GreenEyed Demon
by Crimso
Summary: It's been a year since Rika and her friends shattered fate. As the 1984 Watanagashi approaches, she cannot help but feel a hint of danger. Unfortunately, she didn't know what she'd be facing would be much worse than anything she had ever seen before. MxK
1. Prologue

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Higurashi no naku koro ni or any of it's characters. Higurashi belongs to the 07th Expansion. Sorry about the title of the story, apparently Fanfiction doesn't allow -s.**

Darkness spread throughout Hinamizawa, only lit up by the bright moon in the pitch-black sky. The clouds covered most of the sky, blocking the light of the stars, giving the whole village an ominous feel. A young girl who couldn't be more then ten-years-old sat on the windowsill, a cup in her hand full of purple wine. She had sapphire blue hair and purple eyes, which were staring at nothing. She swirled the cup full of the alcoholic beverage in her hand, but did not take a sip.

Another young girl with light purple hair and horns, probably about the same age in terms of appearance, stirred in her futon and opened her eyes. She slowly got up and tiptoed towards the other girl, clearly worried.

"Rika… You shouldn't be awake at this hour. I thought we decided to go asleep at a regular time from now on," spoke the horned girl. The girl on the windowsill's head suddenly snapped to the other girl's face.

"I'm sorry, Hanyuu. I was thinking," she murmured ever so silently. Hanyuu tilted her head, confused by the actions of the other girl. She had believed that this behavior was a thing of the past.

"What were you thinking about Rika?" Hanyuu asked her friend. Rika sighed and turned towards the window, looking into the silver moon's dull rays.

Rika looked back up at the glistening moon. "The Watanagashi is only a month from now," she spoke sounding solemn, "I fear for our safety. I don't want to be stuck again for another hundred years, or perhaps even another thousand."

"Rika!" cried Hanyuu, clearly shocked by the other's words. Rika responded by putting a finger to her lips and shushing her.

"Shh, Hanyuu!" she responded in a voice no louder than a whisper, "you'll wake Satoko!" Hanyuu's head whipped towards the young yellow-haired girl lying under the covers of her warm futon. She let out a startled cry at her mistake before covering her mouth once again, realizing that she was just causing even more noise.

A small fidgeting noise came from the other side of the room as well as a small voice. "I swear, I can tell them apart…!" muttered a sleeping Satoko as she rolled over. Rika let out a sigh when she realized her friend was simply talking in her sleep while Hanyuu giggled slightly.

"In any case, Rika… what were you saying about the Watanagashi festival?" Hanyuu reminded her friend, urging her to carry on with their previous discussion. The blue-haired girl sighed and started morosely at her.

"Watanagashi is exactly a month from now. I have a really bad feeling, Hanyuu." The worry and grave fear in her voice was obvious. Hanyuu looked down at the wooden floor, having mixed feelings about the subject that was just brought up.

"Rika, please do not worry. There isn't a chance of any of those situations happening now. I thought we fixed them all," The horned girl tried to sound optimistic, but the fear in her tone did not go unnoticed by the other.

"Don't lie to me, Hanyuu! You're worried too, aren't you? Anything could go wrong at this point! The Watanagashi is the perfect chance to commit a murder, that's why all the previous murders happened then!" Rika snapped back. The blue-haired girl's voice and emotions were slowly spiraling out of her control. She felt the cup of wine she was holding drop the floor, spilling its alcoholic contents. However, both girls pretended not to notice as the conversation at hand was much more important than the spilt drink.

"Rika… please, don't be so loud…" Hanyuu said, nervously eyeing the sleeping Satoko.

"Don't try to change the subject, Hanyuu! This is important!" cried Rika. The other girl jumped slightly upon hearing the young girl's ferocious tone.

"Au au au… Rika, please don't worry!" Hanyuu spoke, attempting to calm the girl filled with fear.

"Hanyuu, if you really think nothing bad is going to happen, then promise me this! Promise me that nothing will go wrong and we'll be able to spend this summer in peace!" Rika no longer cared about accidently waking Satoko, or perhaps she had forgotten about it.

A moment of silence followed, only to be broken a few seconds later by Hanyuu. "I cannot promise you that, Rika," The goddess spoke in an honest and stern tone, "To be honest, I fear for a different reason."

"Hanyuu?" The young girl was taken aback by the other's words and sudden change of tone. Hanyuu sighed and climbed onto the windowsill. She stood on it, staring into the darkened sky littered with gray clouds. She took a deep breath, and turned to face the confused girl.

"Rika, this is something I've been keeping to myself for a long time now since I didn't want you to worry about me, but I think it's about time I tell you the truth," her voice was serious and cold with a touch of anxiety mixed in. Her expression mirrored her tone. Rika did not respond, fearing for whatever news was to come.

Hanyuu's expression did not change as she took another deep breath and began to speak, "Rika… I cannot stay in a psychical form for much longer. Come Watanagashi, I won't be able to maintain it anymore and I'll revert back to my spirit form. I will no longer be able to join in on club activities or speak to anyone besides you."

Rika's eyes grew wider than Hanyuu had ever seen before; she opened her mouth to respond but Hanyuu cut off whatever words were to come. "Rika, you will still be able to talk and see me, just not anyone else. So please do not worry, it will be like it was for a thousands of years. It's nothing that I'm not used to."

"But Hanyuu…! Isn't there a way to maintain your form?" Rika protested. The goddess simply shook her head.

"No. I'm running out of power, Rika. People's belief in Oyashiro-sama has been weakening since last Watanagashi as the so-called curse did not occur for the first time in many years," Hanyuu explained.

"Won't you fade all together in time, then? What if people just stop believing all together?" Rika asked.

"This is Hinamizawa we're talking about. For hundreds of years the villagers have worshiped me. There will always be someone who believes. Oyashiro-sama will never die." Hanyuu sounded completely confident that her idea was correct, and this seemed to calm Rika a little bit.

"How are you going to tell this to the club?" asked Rika. Hanyuu put a finger to her chin and looked at the ceiling in deep thought. That hadn't occurred to her.

"You could say that I randomly had to transfer out because I missed my old town?" Hanyuu suggested, sounding unsure. Rika slapped her face and shook her head. Hanyuu sighed, realizing that her plan wouldn't work.

"You could say that the transfer was only for a year and my house was being renovated?" The horned girl suggested again.

"No, that won't work either. That's too random. We never said anything about your house being renovated or that you were only transferring in for a bit. It wouldn't make sense," The miko pointed out.

"Au au au!" Hanyuu cried out. It was obvious that she had no clue whatsoever and never even considered the subject before. "Urm… I'll come up with something Rika! I promise, I promise!"

"How about if we tell them that something suddenly came up back at your town and you have to return?" Rika scratched her head, thinking hard about the subject.

Hanyuu climbed down from the windowsill slowly, careful not to hurt herself or fall off accidently. She bit down on her fingernails and looked back up at the contemplative girl who was now higher up than she was. "Rika, I'll figure something out. I promise you! But for now, I think we should drop the subject, it's not good for us," she spoke. Rika sighed and looked back out towards the gleaming moon, it's rays beginning to fade away as the somber clouds drifted over it. She said absolutely nothing in response to the goddesses promise, as she thought nothing of it. It didn't really matter anyways. How the club would find out was the least of her concerns at the moment. She pushed the subject away in her mind and began to contemplate more serious matters. Hanyuu, unsure of what she should do, ran and got a mop from the kitchen to clean up the purple mess that had been long forgotten about. Rika was focused on the moon, which was now completely covered by the clouds, and darkness prevailed.

Unknown to the goddess, who was currently preoccupied with the spilt drink, Rika let out a small voice in a tone quieter than a whisper, "Bring it on, fate. I'll fight whatever you throw at me. I'm ready this time."

**AN: I've been wanting to write this for a loooong time, but I've been sooo busy. Plus I don't trust my writing skills one bit. This story will be pretty long. Around 15-20 chapters perhaps depending on the amount of reviews. So please review, it honestly helps me write more. Also please let me know if you find any grammatical errors so I can correct them. I am terrible at punctuating dialogue. **


	2. Chapter 1: Go Fish!

**A late apology for the title. Apparently, Fanfiction does not like -s. Damn. Well Greeneyed sounds better than Green eyed (since that just looks grammatically wrong to me) so just tolerate it if you can. &Thanks to those who reviewed.**

The loud chirping of the higurashi cicadas indicated the beginning of summer, as did the golden sun beating down on the small town of Hinamizawa. A boy around the age of sixteen with brown hair lay on top of his futon, asleep. He twitched slightly in his sleep before opening his electric blue eyes. He blinked a few times, unable to process what was going on at such an early hour.

"Nrgh… what time… is it?" he thought out loud. The boy yawned and stretched out his arms before rubbing his eyes with his fists. Slowly, he stood up on shaky legs. Glancing at the clock, he had a hard time making out the numbers that were written on it due to being exhausted. He squinted his eyes, and when he finally was able to read the numbers, shot them open.

"Oh crap! I'm gonna be late!" the boy yelled out in alarm. He quickly searched through his messy room for his school outfit to no avail. _Darn it! Where did I put my uniform? _He thought, slowly getting more and more worried about the time. _Maybe I can go in my normal clothes or…_ he suddenly spotted his white shirt and black pants underneath a pile of books that he had accidently knocked over the other night. He quickly threw the books aside and got changed into his school uniform. When he was done with all that, he ran faster than a cheetah down the stairs.

"Keiichi, you're going to be late!" his mother called to him. The boy named Keiichi was breathing heavily once he reached the bottom of the stairs, worn out from having ran so fast.

"I know, gotta eat quick…" he said in between breaths. Keiichi quickly sat down as his mother placed a bowl of rice in front of him.

"I just made something real quick since you weren't getting up. Rena-chan's gonna be here any minute now!" his mother reminded him. Keiichi nodded as he gulped down the bowl of rice as fast as he could, forgetting to put any kind of topping on it. It took him about two minutes to finish the bowl. Keiichi took the bowl back to the kitchen and grabbed his back sitting by the door. He opened it, checking the contents to make sure he didn't forget anything.

"Homework, pencil, folders. Yup, I'm good! I guess I can relax for a bit until Rena gets here," Keiichi spoke happily. He sighed in relief and sat down on the ground, going over the things he needed to do today.

The minutes passed by and there was no sign of the red-haired girl. Keiichi frowned as he looked at the clock, realizing he was going to be late if he were to wait any longer.

"Hey mom, if Rena comes by, tell her I already left! I'm off, see ya mom!" Keiichi called to his mom. He quickly ran out the door and shut it. He would need to be super fast if he wanted to make it on time.

As he was running, he spotted a female with long green hair tied in a ponytail standing there, seemingly waiting for someone. Then he realized, she was waiting for _him._ He gulped in fear.

"H-Hey Mion! Sorry I'm late, I!" Keiichi called to her as she turned to face him.

She crossed her arms. "LATE!" She yelled, as she pointed her finger at him.

"Hey, I woke up late, and then I couldn't find my clothes, and then I had to eat, and then I was waiting for Rena and…" Keiichi explained franticly to his friend. The girl crossed her arms and looked confused. She raised an eyebrow at his explanation.

"Rena? She's sick today. So is Shion," Mion told him as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

The boy's eyes widened upon hearing his friend's response. "WHAT?" Keiichi yelled in shock.

"You didn't know?" Mion asked.

"Well of course I didn't know! No one told me!" He snapped at her, sounding rather angry.

"Oh. I figured Rena would have told you. She called me last night," Mion said sounding bored. She then scratched her chin and spoke, "Oh yeah! I just remembered. She told me to call you and tell you as well since she was too tired to do so. So much for that," she shrugged.

"Wait a moment, why didn't call me then?" He yelled once again.

The girl shrugged. "I was tired too you know! This old man needs her beauty sleep!" She complained. Keiichi raised his eyebrow, not believing his friend's story.

"Are you just making this up or were you really _that_ tired?" Keiichi accused, sounding unsure.

"Whoa Kei-chan, let's not forget which one of us slept in today!" Mion reminded him with a smirk, "and besides, do you really think this old man would lie to you?"

Keiichi was thrown off guard by her first statement, but he decided to ignore that. "Yes," he responded without hesitation, "you're the most likely in my book to lie about something like that."

"We're gonna be late!" Mion cried out suddenly, changing the topic out of the blue, "I'll race ya Kei-chan! I bet you can't beat this old man!"

"Wait, hold on Mion! I'm not done with you just yet!" he called out to her, but Mion pretended not to hear that.

"One, two, three, GOOOOOO!" she yelled as she took off suddenly at a speed faster than Keiichi had seen before. He just stood there in shock for a few seconds before remembering he was going to be late, and ran after her.

"Hold on Mion! Wait for me! That's not fair at all!" he yelled at her as he ran. Mion turned her head towards him and stuck her tongue out, picking up the pace of her running. Keiichi growled and did the same, determined to beat the girl at the race.

This rowdy girl's name was Sonozaki Mion. She was about a year or so older than Keiichi, meaning she was seventeen. _She's such a boy! _Keiichi thought as he tried to catch up with the quick female. _Sometimes, I doubt she's really a girl. But still… she's my best friend. But damn, does she have to be so noisy so early?_

Unfortunately, it ended in a total loss for Keiichi. Mion stood outside the classroom door, attempting to catch her breath and smirked at him. "Looks like this old man wins once again, and it looks like Kei-chan is the loser!" she boasted. Keiichi clenched his teeth.

"That wasn't even fair!" he retorted, "you got a head start and that whole race was totally uncalled for!"

"Heh, all I hear is the babbling of a loser!" Mion taunted. Her attempts to get Keiichi angry were working well.

"Why you Mion..!" Keiichi growled as he opened up the door to the classroom. He stomped in while glaring at the green-haired girl. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't looking where he was going. He suddenly felt something brush against his legs, and the next thing he knew, he was lying on the floor. A shrill laugh echoed throughout the room; a laugh all too familiar to the boy.

"Ohohohoho! It looks like Keiichi-san fell for the same one as Wednesday! Ohohohohoho!" A young voice rang out.

"Satoko! Why you…!" He quickly jumped back on his legs and started to run at the owner of the laugh, a young blonde girl with pink-purple eyes. She yelped and ran away from him. Keiichi chased the girl around the classroom, knocking over a few unsuspecting students in the process. He finally managed to chase the girl into a corner after a few minutes of dashing throughout the whole classroom. Tears began to well up in her eyes as she stood helplessly in one of the corners corner.

"Satoko! Shion isn't here to protect you today, so you know what that means… FOREHEAD FLICK OF DOOM!" Keiichi said dramatically as he moved his hand towards her forehead and flicked it. The young girl named Satoko began to cry.

"No, not the forehead flick of doom! I didn't do anything! I'm innocent!" She cried out in panic.

"Nice try, Satoko! After a whole year, do you think I'd be stupid enough not to know it's you?" He spoke, intimidating Satoko even more. The girl backed up further into the corner and bit her lip to suppress a wail.

This girl was named Houjou Satoko, a real brat. Her hobbies included setting up traps and then pretending to be completely innocent when one goes off on someone. She was really good at setting up traps, too. It took her about half a minute to set up a small one and not even twice as long to set up a bigger one. _I'll get her some day,_ Keiichi thought with a growl.

A young girl with blue hair broke the threatening atmosphere as she strode up to the two of them slowly. She walked past Keiichi and began to pat Satoko's head gently.

"Mii, Satoko, next time you can make an even better trap!" She spoke in a happy tone, attempting to cheer up the slightly younger girl. Satoko's head rose as she looked into the slightly darker eyes of the other girl.

"Rika! Keiichi-san is being mean to me again!" she cried out. Rika turned to Keiichi and frowned, struggling slightly to meet his eyes.

"Don't be so mean, Keiichi. Satoko was just playing," she scolded. Keiichi frowned back at the blue-haired girl.

"Just playing? What about the time she left tacks on the ground and on my chair? That's not just playing! I could have been seriously injured!" protested Keiichi. The girl named Rika climbed up on a nearby chair and reached forward to pat Keiichi's head.

"Mii, it's okay! No one has been hurt badly by her traps except the bad men! Nipah~!" The young blue-haired girl spoke cheerfully as she continued to pat his head.

"As usual, Rika-chan, you're such a good girl!" Keiichi praised. This young girl was named Furude Rika. She was about ten years old at this year, slightly older than Satoko who would be turning ten on July 24th. She was a miko at the Furude Shrine and the head of the Furude family despite being so young. Unlike her best friend, she was a nice girl who always knew how to cheer people up.

"But on the other hand…" Keiichi's happy tone was lost, "Satoko! Can't you learn from Rika-chan?" he said to her bitterly.

Satoko hesitated and spoke, "I'm already a fine lady! I didn't set up any traps. What are you talking about? That was Tomita and Okamura!" she pointed accusingly towards her two male classmates of the same age who were busy having a conversation. Upon hearing their names, both of them turned to look at her. They blinked in confusion as Satoko lowered her finger.

"Nice try, Satoko," Keiichi growled, "I know it's you. That's enough of you playing innocent!"

"And that's enough of you scolding Satoko!" a voice not belonging to Keiichi, Rika, or Satoko interrupted them. They both turned to see a girl with light purple hair and slightly darker eyes staring at them. Her name was Furude Hanyuu, a distant relative of Rika's. She had transferred in the year before. Strangely, she had two black horns protruding from the top of her head. Keiichi had asked about them once upon her transfer in, but she had gotten upset and no one asked after that. They all figured they were probably just toys.

"Hanyuu!" cried Keiichi, "don't you see that I'm attempting to discipline a child who has crossed the line one two many times?"

Hanyuu simply smiled. "Don't you think Satoko has been punished enough by this point? Look at her!" Keiichi glanced towards blonde girl who was crying a tiny bit.

"I don't feel bad for her one bit, she deserved it after all," Keiichi said. Hanyuu sighed in response to Keiichi's ignorance.

"Au au au… but you should leave poor Satoko be for today! That's just cruel!" She spoke, trying to sound mean but failing. Instead, it sounded more like she was nervous.

Keiichi sighed, deciding to give up on his task of scolding Satoko. He went back to his chair and sat down, carefully making sure that the yellow-haired girl didn't put yet another trap on his chair.

"Good morning everyone!" the sudden voice of his teacher broke the tension, "please be seated! Class is about to start!" Keiichi watched as all the students returned to their chairs, ready to start school.

"That's it for class today," bellowed the teacher, "goodbye everyone!" As soon as she said that, all the students ran out the door. None of them wanted to be in school. All of them were looking forward to relaxing at home. However, that's not what Keiichi had in mind.

"Alright! I'm ready for today's club activities!" He yelled excitedly. He was all fired up. Keiichi was a member of a small club consisting of seven members including himself, Mion, Rika, Satoko, Hanyuu, Shion, and Rena. The point of the club was to play games. However, in club leader Mion's words, you're not supposed to have fun and everything they do is serious business. Proof of that was the punishment for losing which changed everyday. Yesterday, he lost badly and was sent home wearing cat ears and tail, complete with a collar. However, his spirit died down upon hearing another voice.

"I don't think we can have club without Rena and Shion," Rika pointed out. Hanyuu nodded her head in agreement.

"It's just no fun!" Satoko pointed out, "If we're missing two members, I'd rather be sleeping on the couch at home instead of playing activities!"

"What!" Keiichi cried out as the three girls walked out of the classroom. He then let out a sigh and began to pack his things. "I guess I'm off as well, see ya Mion!"

"Wait!" Mion's loud voice made Keiichi freeze. He turned to face her, looking into her emerald green eyes.

"What is it, Mion?" Keiichi asked.

Mion grinned at him in response. "They're cowards if they're gonna run away from a club activity! Stay here, Kei-chan."

"But Mion! How are we going to play with-" Keiichi cut himself off when he realized. It would just be him and Mion today. This is the chance he had been waiting for! He let out a grin as well. "Alright then, Sonozaki! I'll take you on directly!"

"That's the spirit!" cried Mion, "then the two of us will play a game together. What should the punishment be?"

Keiichi scratched his head; "Hm… well I think it should be something severe this time, since it's just the two of us. How about if the loser has to cross-dress for ALL of afterschool tomorrow?"

"I like it, Kei-chan! This old man likes the way you think! I agree to the punishment! Then, what game shall we play?"

Keiichi looked over to Mion's locker, eyeing it. "I'm afraid to open that thing. If I do, I bet everything will go flying out," he chuckled. Mion's locker was stuffed full of various games that she had bought. Some of them were basic games like cards, but some were rare games imported from America. Her locker also strangely held various outfits for punishment games. Why she had the outfits in the first place, Keiichi would never know.

"Heh, how about this old man picks then?" Mion suggested, sounding somewhat mischievous. The brown-haired boy raised an eyebrow, somewhat suspicious of his friend.

"Fine by me, I guess. I don't know what to pick, so go ahead!" Keiichi instructed her, deciding not to think so hard about what Mion's intentions were. After all, it would be even more devastating to her if he were to beat her at a game she had chosen. Mion nodded and opened her locker with caution. If she weren't careful, all the games and wacky outfits would come flying out. It seemed as if she was the only one who could actually open up her locker without causing a disaster. A few days ago, Rena had gone to pick a game and everything had flown out at her. No one had cleaned up the mess until after the activities were over. Mion, the winner, had forced him, the loser, to clean the whole thing up. Keiichi winced at the thought of having to clean it up again.

Mion took out a deck of cards and placed them on the desk in front of her and her opponent. "Today, let's play Go Fish. Do you know how to play, Kei-chan?" She asked him with a smirk on her face in attempt to intimidate him. However, her attempts failed. Of course Keiichi knew that game, it was probably the most simple card game there was.

"Of course I do, Mion! Who the hell do you think I am? If I didn't know, then I wouldn't be Maebara Keiichi!" He spoke in a confident tone. Mion chuckled.

"Heh, I like your spirit Kei-chan. Do you really think you can beat me, the great Sonozaki Mion?" she asked, speaking her name with great pride.

"Let's see _you_ try to take _me_ down, Sonozaki!" Keiichi taunted, a huge grin on his face. His spirit was burning up like never before. This time he could do it. This time he could win. He knew he could, he just _had_ to.

Mion began to shuffle the cards with great speed. He noticed that the deck was new, so there wouldn't be any scratches or marks to indicate which card was which. She gave herself seven cards randomly and handed seven more to Keiichi. He picked up the shiny new cards and looked at what he had. Two, one, four, eight, seven, seven, queen. He put the two sevens down, meaning he started with five cards. _Great, that means I get the lead!_ He thought happily. Mion was staring at her cards with a troubled look and sighed when she noticed him putting down the two sevens. _She doesn't have any matches then. Great, I think I can win this one! Let's do this thing, Maebara Keiichi!_

Mion was staring intensely at his cards as if trying to read right through the back. However, her attempts were in vain. The new deck had no scratches or marks that could possibly tell her what he had in his hand.

"Do you have any eights?" Keiichi asked his rival. The girl shook her head in response.

"Go fish, Kei-chan. Looks like this lead won't stay forever, eh?" she told him as he groaned and picked up a new card. He decided to ignore her comment and looked at the new card. It was a three. He put the new card in his hand and waited for Mion to make her move.

"Kei-chan, do you happen to have any threes?" Keiichi gulped and handed her the card that he had just taken from the pile. Mion put her other three card down on the table face up. _I have five, she has six now. I guess this means I'm still in the lead._

"Er… Do you have any twos?" he asked. She shook her head once again, making Keiichi sigh in disappointment.

"Go fish," she ordered him. Keiichi picked up a five and put it in his hand.

"Kei-chan, do you have any fours?" she asked him. He scanned his cards and found a four. Reluctantly, he forfeited the guessed card. _Five, five. _

He quickly glanced at his hand of cards."Do you have any eights?" he thought without asking. Mion began to laugh at him as soon as the words came out of his mouth. Puzzled, he stared at her. "What's so funny, Mion?"

"Haha! It's just that you asked that before! Go fish, Kei-chan!" struck with realization, he let out a small cry as he picked up a new card. Another three.

"Do you have any sevens, Kei-chan?" Mion asked. Keiichi's frown turned into a grin as he scanned his cards and found no sevens.

"Go fish, Mion!" he spoke with pride. Mion frowned and grumbled, picking up a new card. Her frown disappeared as soon as she picked up the card.

"Haha! Lucky me, I picked up a seven!" she cried out in victory as she placed her seven down on the table. _Damn it! Six to four. How did this happen? _Mion smirked at him when she saw his shocked expression. "Oh, Kei-chan? What are you surprised about, anyways? Wasn't the result of this match obvious from the very beginning? I, Sonozaki Mion, win at _everything!_ You're a fool for doubting that for even a single second!" she yelled triumphantly.

"It's not over yet, Sonozaki! I will beat you, I promise!" he cried at her. Mion didn't look afraid in the slightest.

"Oh yeah? Well let's see you try, Kei-chan! Do you really think you can beat me?" she sneered. Keiichi narrowed his eyes.

"I, Maebara Keiichi, will beat you, Sonozaki Mion! Don't you think for a moment that you have won this!" he yelled at her.

"Show me how good you are, Kei-chan!" Mion challenged him.

"Challenge accepted! Now Mion, prepare to face the rather of Maebara Keiichi!" he let out a battle cry as he spoke those words, ready to take her down.

"Heh, do you have any nines, Kei-chan?" asked Mion.

"Nrgh, here you go Mion," growled Keiichi in defeat. Mion grinned as she happily took the card from him.

"That's my eighth win, Kei-chan! That makes the score 8-2! I guess that means this old man is the winner!" Mion announced happily. Keiichi let out a small cry of alarm and fell over in his chair. The green-haired girl laughed upon seeing this. "I hope you remember the punishment, Kei-chan. You have to dress as a girl for all of tomorrow after school," reminded Mion

"Yeah yeah, I remember alright. But it's not like I have girl's clothes sitting around my house," Keiichi said with a grumble.

"Then you can wearing this old man's clothes!" she laughed.

"G-Gah! W-What the hell Mion! I can't wear _YOUR _clothes!" Keiichi stuttered. The female stopped laughing.

"Oh, why not? This old man doesn't mind at all! You're gonna have to bring your own underwear though, this old man isn't gonna let you wear that," Mion winked at him as she spoke those words.

"Mion, you're such a pervert," Keiichi growled.

Mion grinned in response to him. "Heh, oh I know that alright. It's just human nature to be a pervert. I'm seventeen so I'm allowed to be perverted," she said giving him another wink. Keiichi sighed. His best friend could be so strange at times.

**Phew! I can't wait until the weekend, I think I need a break. I'm under so much stress, I don't know where to start. I won't abandon this story (I don't plan to at all at least) so don't worry. Well... if I even have any readers :P. ****Thanks for reading + please review!  
~Crimso **


	3. Chapter 2: Conversations

**DISCLAIMER: I still don't own Higurashi no naku koro ni or any of it's characters.**

It was around four in the afternoon. The sun had begun to go down, leaving a pink and orange gradient in the sky. The higurashi cicada's cries were slowly growing louder every passing minute.

Mion found herself sitting on her futon at her house along with her younger twin sister, Shion. Shion was exactly the same as Mion appearance wise save for their hair and clothes. Shion kept her hair down while Mion had hers tied into a long, green ponytail that reached down to her waist. Mion and Shion were very close to each other. They always told the other about everything and never kept secrets from one another.

"…Kei-chan actually thought he could beat me!" laughed Mion, "it was kind of stupid of him. Of course I creamed him!"

Shion smiled at her twin sister. "And what was the punishment game?" she asked her.

"He's gotta cross-dress tomorrow afterschool. And he came up with that idea himself!" she said with hysterical laughter.

"Oh come on sis, don't you ALWAYS have him cross-dress. Tsk, you're gonna hurt the poor guy's pride as a man," Shion scolded her. Mion crossed her arms.

"Pfft, let's see _you_ come up with a better idea," she threatened. Shion smirked, sending chills down Mion's spine. Whatever Shion was thinking, it was probably perverted.

"You could have asked him to kiss you," she teased, "or you could have asked to sleep with him… if you know what I mean," Mion went red instantly at Shion's ridiculous ideas.

"W-W-What are you talking about? T-That's stupid! It's not l-like I want him to kiss me or anything like that. Yeah, he's my best friend!" Mion quickly explained. Unfortunately for Mion, Shion knew her well enough to know when she was lying. This, Shion knew, was a huge lie.

Shion smirked at her sister. "Oh come ON sis, just imagine his soft lips pressing against yours, and then his tongue will slip into your mouth and touching you tongue… and then he'll carry you to his futon and he'll slowly take off your clothes…" Shion didn't get to finish her sentence as her sister hitting her on the head quickly cut her off.

"Shion!" Mion yelled at her sister in pure embarrassment.

"Oh but sis, do you think you'd be a good kisser? You can practice on me if you want," she suggested. As a joke, she leaned in to kiss her.

"Shion!" Mion roared as she pushed her sister away. Shion just laughed in response.

"Sis, I was joking you know," Shion told her.

Mion rolled her eyes. "That's what I thought. Stupid Shion!"

"No, you actually thought I was going to do it. Stupid sis!" Shion stuck her tongue out at Mion. Mion copied her sister's actions, sticking her tongue out as well.

Shion began to laugh and she took a sip of her tea that Mion had made for the both of them. "But seriously now sis, I think you should have told him to kiss you at _least_," she told her sister.

"I don't like him," muttered Mion and she too took a sip of the tea.

"Sis, if you don't act soon, some girl's gonna come and snatch him away. Rika, Rena, Satoko, and Hanyuu are all too adorable to resist after all. If one of them wants Kei-chan, I bet ya they can snatch him up," Shion spoke seriously.

Mion bit her lip. Shion was right. Rena was her age, and was in every way more of a girl and more adorable than Mion was. Rika was just plain adorable despite obviously not being Keiichi's age. But the green-haired girl realized that despite this, it was possible that Keiichi might fall for the little miko. The same went for Hanyuu and Satoko. Well, then again, Keiichi _did_ think Satoko was a little brat, but Keiichi was close to her anyhow. They were all friends despite how they acted towards each other.

"Darn it Shion! Why are you always right? Argh!" Mion yelled in defeat as she scratched her head furiously in frustration. Shion smiled victoriously as she took another sip of her tea.

"I know you too well sis. Besides, you've already told me time and time again about how you looooove your Kei-chan," Shion taunted her. Mion had to restrain herself from strangling her twin sister on the spot. Instead, she let out a growl to show her annoyance.

"I do not love Kei-chan! That's just stupid Shion," she denied, crossing her arms and looking away in attempt to hide the pink blush that was spreading across her face. Shion raised an eyebrow, catching her blush.

"Nice try sis, why are you blushing?" asked Shion with her eyebrow still raised.

"Ah… um… that's cuz…" Mion stuttered as she struggled to come up with some explanation, even if it wasn't that convincing. "I have a cold! You see?" she explained while fake coughing into her elbow.

Shion sighed. "You really like Kei-chan a lot, don't you? But you know, the others might as well." she told her sister.

Mion bit her lip, and then suddenly had an outburst. "GAH! Shion, you're right! You're always right!" she cried out in defeat. "What do I do, Shion? What do I do?"

Her sister patted her on the head and smiled. "Don't worry sis! I'll come up with a plan! Besides, I don't think Kei-chan is a pedophile," Shion reassured her. She paused for a moment. "Well, actually, I take that back. He might be…" she scratched her chin, pretending to ponder. Mion instantly hit her sister over the head. Shion rubbed her own head and frowned. "Now what was that for? He might be!"

Mion hit her sister again. "He is not, stupid Shion!" she yelled out.

"So sis, I guess that means that they have no chance with Kei-chan," Shion said. Mion looked away.

"Agh! Darn it Shion! They do have a chance, they do! And I don't! What do I do, Shion?" begged Mion as she slumped down dejectedly.

Shion smirked. "Sis, I have the perfect plain! Just listen to your sis, and you'll be with Kei-chan in no time!" She sung cheerfully. Mion's eyes began to tear up.

"R-Really? You mean it Shion?" she asked with hope in her eyes. Her twin smiled and nodded.

"Yup! How about if we get started?" she suggested with a grin spread across her face. Mion suddenly reached across the table and hugged her sister tightly.

"Thank you Shion!" she cried as she held her sister tightly. Shion hugged her back tightly, shutting her eyes. After a few minutes, Mion pushed her sister away.

"Okay!" Shion announced, "it's time for step number one! Sis, are you ready?"

Mion nodded eagerly. "Yes yes! I'm ready sis, tell me! What do I do? Do I have to dress up? Do I have to change my appearance at all? Do I need to act more girly?" She asked.

"Nope! For step one, why don't you practice kissing on your twin sister here-" Shion began to explain before she was cut off abruptly by Mion's fist banging down on her head.

"Ugh, stupid Shion! You don't really have a plan do you!" Mion yelled in anger. Shion laughed at her sister's sudden anger and change of mood.

Once she stopped laughing, she winked at her sister once. "I was just joking again, sis. Now, give me a few moments and I'll come up with something!"

Mion growled at her, "I hate you, Stupid Shion…"

~~~~X~~~~

Mion swirled her tea around in the cup as she sat in her grandmother's room, alone. Her grandmother had gone to the kitchen for a bit and was to return in any moment. She looked dully at the tea in the cup and sighed. _I wonder if Shion ever came up with anything,_ she thought as she finally brought the cup to her lips and took a sip of it. Swallowing the bitter tea, she put the cup down and lay on her back. She felt a small amount of pain in her stomach as she did so. _Gee, I wonder when Grandma is gonna be back._ Just as she thought that, her grandma pulled open the sliding door and stepped inside before closing it and sitting down in front of Mion. She picked up her own tea and took a sip of it.

"Mion, you don't look well," she commented. Mion sat up and light out a small sigh.

"Yeah, I think I picked up the fever from Shion," she muttered. Mion picked up her tea and took another sip. In all honesty, Mion didn't like the taste of the bitter tea she had made. It wasn't because _she_ had made it; it was just the brand.

Her grandmother let out a sigh. "Honestly, the two of you. Will you go to school tomorrow?" she asked her granddaughter. The green-haired teenager nodded her head in response.

"Yeah yeah, I think I'm going to be okay. My stomach doesn't hurt that much anyways," she answered.

"In that case," her grandmother spoke, deciding to change the topic, "we need to discuss this year's Watanagashi. If I'm correct, it will take place on 17th of June this year."

She nodded. "I believe that is correct. I'm guessing Rika-chan will be performing the cotton drifting ceremony again."

"Yes. I do believe she has grown an inch or two over last year, so I'll be making another miko outfit for her," her grandmother responded.

Mion blinked a few times. "I hadn't noticed Rika-chan grew any taller," she murmured.

"Yes. You are growing as well, Mion. It is only natural for an old person like me who is not getting any taller to notice these things in young children," she spoke with a barely visible smile on her face. She took another sip of the tea.

Mion looked down at the ground. "She's a good kid, isn't she? Rika-chan."

Her grandmother nodded in agreement. "Yes she is. She's a wonderful child. I'm sure she will pull off the ceremony beautifully like she did last time,"

Mion smiled, remembering Rika's beautiful performance at the last Watanagashi festival. She was very good for someone her age. The ceremonial hoe must have weighed a whole bunch. It was probably hard for the young girl to carry such a thing.

Her grandmother coughed uncomfortably. Mion blinked at her with worry. "Now, on to the topic of Oyashiro-sama's curse," she spoke sounding uneasy about the topic. Mion's smile quickly faded at the mention of the topic. Oyashiro-sama's curse, the curse that plagued Hinamizawa for four years.

Mion looked down, her tone of voice quickly darkening with her expression. "Batcha, I don't think it's going to happen this year. Last year it was avoided," she muttered.

Her grandmother looked unsure. "You never know, Mion. Just because one year was missed doesn't mean it won't happen again. The police will be patrolling again. Just be prepared for the curse to happen then. The Watanagashi isn't for a while."

Mion looked back at her grandmother. "Last year's Watanagashi was peaceful. I'm sure it will be the same, Batcha," she told her grandmother with certainty in her voice.

"Yeah. You bring up a good point there, child. After last Watanagashi, it probably won't happen. It seems that Maebara boy brought you kids some peace. He's quite admirable. The elders respect him," her grandmother commented. Mion blushed slightly at the mention of her crush's name. This was an act that did not go unnoticed by her grandmother. "Mion, he's done good for you as well, hasn't he? I'm glad I let him move in," she said when she noticed her granddaughter blushing at the boy's name.

Mion's blush didn't fade. She looked down at her feat, embarrassed. "Yeah, he's done good for all the kids. I think the younger ones also look up to him as well as us," she spoke. She darted her eyes to the side in attempt to avoid her grandmother's gaze.

Her grandmother rubbed her temples. "I'm glad you were able to meet someone you like so much, Mion-" she began to speak. A very red-faced Mion cut off her sentence.

"N-No! It's not like that! I don't like him or anything! It's nothing, I swear! Gahahaha!" she explained quickly with a fake laugh at the end.

"…That's not what I was trying to say, Mion!" she sighed at her granddaughter's behavior. Mion blinked a few times. "I was thinking that new villagers do good for the village. When Ryuuguu Rena transferred in to the village, you seemed to perk up a bit. I recall that you were rather bored and feeling lonely back then. And then when that Maebara kid transferred in, you seemed happier than I've ever seen you," explained her grandmother.

Mion nodded at her explanation. "Yeah, you're right. I'm glad they moved in. I think I'd still be a bored lump if Rena and Kei-chan didn't move in. And thanks again for letting Shion stay here..." Mion's voice began to trail off.

Her grandmother's slight smile faltered for a moment at the mention of her other granddaughter's name. They had never had a good relationship after all. "If it makes you happy, then I'm fine with it," her grandmother managed to mumble.

Mion smiled again. It was good that her grandmother was beginning to forgive Shion for all she had done in the past. Mion had been feeling very lonely when Shion was forced to go to an all-girls school in Okinomiya and left her with absolutely no girls her age. Rena had transferred in about a month later. "In any case, Mion, I think it's good to have new villagers. I forgot to tell you earlier, but I decided to put some of those old lots up for sale. We've gotten quite a bit of interest so far. I'm just hoping we can get someone with kids for you and your friends," she informed her. The green-haired girl looked slightly surprised by this information.

"So, do you think we'll get some new villagers?" Mion asked.

Her grandmother shook her head. "I'm not sure, Mion. But I certainly do hope so for you children."

~~~~X~~~~

The night was nice and clear without a cloud in the sky, a pleasant night in contrast to the previous one. The moon's silver rays shone down on Hinamizawa, brightening it ever so slightly. Rika looked up at the golden stars in the sky as she took a small sip of wine. Hanyuu sat on the floor next to her, dressed in her

nightclothes. She had a slightly worried look on her face as she watched Rika take another sip of her wine.

"R-Rika," she stuttered, "you shouldn't be drinking that. I think you've had enough already. Besides, wine is nasty!"

Rika ignored her friend and took another sip of wine. Suddenly, she let out a small sigh. Hanyuu frowned slightly when she received no response from the blue-haired girl. "Rika, I mean it. Say something!" she pleaded.

"The night is nice, isn't it?" Rika commented, staring out at the vast sky. Hanyuu nodded in response to her friend. It was rather nice outside. All the stars in the sky were clearly visible. Rika was looking at the stars in attempt to point out a few constellations. "I found a constellation. Look over there," Rika said as she pointed to a constellation in the sky. Hanyuu's eyes widened when she saw the constellation. It was so beautiful to the girls who had only seen clouds covering the night sky for the last few days.

"Um… that constellation is named… it's called… the constellation is made…" Hanyuu spoke shakily. "Um, Rika? I don't remember the name of the constellation," she admitted

Rika let out a sigh and shook her head. "That's alright Hanyuu. I don't expect you to. The constellation is called-" the answer to the question went unheard by Hanyuu as Rika's wine fell to the floor. Her head quickly snapped away from the stars to her split drink. Hanyuu jumped back in surprise when the drink landed with a crash.

Hanyuu hesitated. "Um, I'll go get a mop!" she cried out as she ran to the kitchen. Rika frowned and looked back out at the stars. Hanyuu did as she said and quickly got a large mop about three quarters of her size. She slowly began to clean up the purple puddle.

"Hey, Hanyuu?" Rika suddenly said, surprising her friend. Hanyuu suddenly stopped mopping.

"Yes, Rika?" she responded as she held the large mop completely still.

"How much time do you think you have? An estimate will be fine, I just want an idea," the young miko asked. Both girls didn't look at each other. Rika's eyes were staring at the constellation while Hanyuu's gaze was seemingly fixed on the spilt wine. "I want to know so you can tell the others beforehand."

Hanyuu let out a small sigh, almost impossible to hear. "I'm not sure, Rika. I don't know how many of the villager's belief in Oyashiro-sama still stands. I'm not sure how many villagers don't believe anymore. It seems as if Oyashiro-sama's curse is slowly fading to them," she explained in a serious voice.

Rika suddenly turned to Hanyuu and away from the mesmerizing constellation. "But the Watanagashi is coming up! Won't people be reminded of the curse?" snapped Rika. Hanyuu, this time, didn't flinch at her friend's sudden outburst.

"It's not a matter of them remembering, it's believing that the curse will happen. Oyashiro-sama did not sacrifice anyone last year, after all," Hanyuu spoke gravely.

Rika clenched her teeth and let out a small growl. "I'm getting worried here, Hanyuu! What if something bad happens? What if we can't make a miracle? We need you to make a miracle!" she yelled back.

"I'm sorry Rika! I'm just a powerless god! I can't do anything, I really can't!" the goddess cried out. Rika was about to yell something back, but shut her mouth suddenly. Hanyuu finally turned away and noticed that all their yelling had woken up Satoko. The young blonde-haired girl's eyes were only half open as she pushed herself up with a yawn. Her vision was blurry, and she spent quite a few seconds just looking at the two of them emotionlessly.

Finally, she spoke, "Rika? Hanyuu? Why are you two awake at this time? I thought you both said we should go to sleep early so we weren't late to school," she asked. Satoko was clearly tired and failed to notice Hanyuu holding a giant mop.

Rika hesitated in attempt to come up with some excuse. "Mii, I wanted to look at the pretty stars," she lied with a convincing but fake smile on her face. Satoko titled her head at her friend.

"You're weird, Rika," she responded, crawling back into her futon and shutting her eyes. A moment of awkward silence followed, with none of the girls doing anything except standing and blinking.

"Satoko?" Rika broke the silence.

"Huuuh?" came a tired voice from underneath the futon. "What is it, Rika? I don't wanna look at the stars right now…"

The young girl chuckled at her friend. "No no, you don't have to look at the stars. They are very beautiful though. Nipah~!" she beamed. "I just wanted to ask you a question. It might seem odd, but it's actually very important.

"Well go ahead Rika," Satoko muttered.

The miko paused for a bit, not saying anything. She took a deep breath before asking, "Satoko? Do you believe in Oyashiro-sama?" Hanyuu gave Rika a surprised glance, but she took no notice of it. Satoko pulled herself out of the futon once again and looked puzzled. "I told you it would be a weird question, but please answer," pleaded Rika.

"I thought we figured out Oyashiro-sama's curse was just Takano's doing. I don't think it was really a god. After all, the murders stopped after she was arrested," Satoko answered.

Rika shook her head. "Yeah, but what about Oyashiro-sama? Not just the curse," she asked again.

The blonde-haired girl thought for a moment. "You're asking odd questions, Rika," she sighed. "I don't really know what Oyashiro-sama does other than curse people. I mean, he could exist, but I don't really believe very much," she explained.

"…Alright, that's all I needed to know. Go back to bed, Satoko," ordered Rika

with a sigh as she climbed down from the windowsill. Hanyuu watched as Rika crawled back into her futon and shut her eyes, leaving her to clean up the puddle of wine.

"Well, I guess I better clean this up," Hanyuu sighed.

~~~~X~~~~

Mion quickly packed up her things. She grabbed her folder containing various unfinished math assignments from her desk and placed it in her bag. "Alright. I got everything," she said to herself as she let out a small sigh. The female picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder as she began to walk towards the door. Shion, still dressed in her nightclothes, was drinking a cup of milk. "Shion, are you still sick?" Mion asked her sister.

Shion put the cup down. "Yeah, I'm gonna skip today as well. I'll probably be able to come back in two days," she spoke dully.

Mion rolled her eyes at her twin sister. "You seem perfectly fine, Shion."

She took another sip of her milk before responding to her sister with a yawn. "Yeah, I SEEM perfectly fine. I threw up last night. It was pretty terrible," Shion said while waving her hand dismissively at the identical green-haired girl.

"Whatever Shion, see you after school I guess," Mion growled as she walked out of the room. Shion waved goodbye to her sister, wiping away some milk from her face.

Mion opened the door and began to walk out into the morning light. She took a deep breath as the warm summer air hit her. _It's really nice today. I wish we could just enjoy the outdoors more instead of being forced to sit in school all day. Oh yeah, I didn't do my math homework_ she thought as she took a deep breath of the fresh air.

"Mion?" called a scratchy voice. Mion turned around to see her grandmother standing behind her.

Mion blinked a few times, wondering what her grandmother wanted. "Yes, Batcha?"

Her grandmother was once again emotionless. Mion noted that her grandmother was always able to hide emotions from her face and her attitude, so it was almost impossible to tell what she was thinking. Although it was quite clear when she got angry with someone. "A family is going to move into one of the houses next door. I have a meeting with Kimiyoshi about the Watanagashi, so I can't great them. Can I leave it to you to show them around the village?" she asked her.

Mion smiled and nodded. "I'd be glad to, Batcha." She couldn't really refuse after all. That would be just plain rude. Mion didn't even want to think about how her grandmother would react then. Besides, it would be nice to get to know the new family.

"Then I'll leave it to you. Oh yes, their children will not be coming to the tour so I trust that you and your friends will show them around," she added.

Mion gave her a grin. "You can count on me, Batcha!"

"Yes yes. Now head off to school," she grumbled.

Mion dashed out the door with her bag in hand. She passed by many houses with elegant and old fashion design as well as many trees. A nearby higurashi cicada was startled by her loud running and quickly flew away chirping loudly. She suddenly stopped to catch her breath, holding her chest and looking down at the ground. She slowly raised her head and looked around the village. It was rather early and there weren't many people out. The whole village was quite save for the cries of the higurashi. Mion, who had lived in Hinamizawa all her life, was used to the cries of the loud cicadas so she took no notice of it. When she finally caught her breath, she took her hand off her chest and continued down the dusty path and towards the usual meeting spot. Two figures slowly came into the green-haired girl's view. "Kei-chan! Rena! Sonozaki Mion has arrived!" she called to the both of them as she picked up the pace of her walking. Both figures turned towards Mion and waved to her.

"Hey Mion!" called a masculine voice.

"Mi-chan! Good morning!" called a high-pitched feminine one.

When Mion reached the two of them, she gave them a smile. "Hey Kei-chan, hey Rena!" she greeted them both. Then, she turned to Keiichi and gave him a smirk. "Good Kei-chan, you're not late today."

"Hey!" growled Keiichi, "I'm not usually late! Yesterday was just one of the few times where I was late."

Mion stuck her tongue out at him. "Heh! You're always late, Kei-chan," she teased, knowing her words were completely untrue.

Keiichi crossed his arms in anger. "I am not!" he objected.

Mion gave him a dismissive gesture. "Yeah yeah yeah. Says the guy who couldn't even beat me at Go Fish," she taunted. Keiichi opened his mouth to protest, but before he could, Mion turned to Rena. "Hey Rena, are you feeling any better?" she asked her.

Rena gave her older friend a smile. "Yup! I'm feeling great, thank you Mi-chan! How is Shi-chan?"

Mion sighed at the mention of her twin sister's name. "Shion claims to still be sick but I doubt that for some reason. You know Shion, she doesn't care one bit about school other than hanging out."

"Like you," Keiichi growled at the green-haired girl. She decided to ignore his comment.

Rena looked worried. "Is Shi-chan okay? I wonder, I wonder…" she asked.

"Oh yeah, she's perfectly fine. I bet you she'll come to school tomorrow. We'll just have to have club activities without her," she answered. Rena didn't look convinced. "Whatever, let's just go so we can hang out a bit before class starts," she told them.

This girl was named Rena Ryuuguu. She was younger than both Mion and Keiichi, being about fifteen years old. However, her birthday would be coming up in July. In contrast to Mion, Rena was very shy.

They both nodded and continued to walk towards the school. The three of them began to chat about various things. News, club activities, school, tv shows... pretty much anything they could think of.

The three of them eventually reached the small school. They opened the door and stepped inside, the old wooden floor creaking with every step they the schoolroom had recently been renovated, the halls had not. Keiichi was afraid that one day someone would fall through the crack in the ground. When they reached the door, Keiichi reached to open it, but drew his hand back at the last second. "Mion," he addressed her, "why don't you open the door today?"

Mion raised an eyebrow at her friend, not understanding his intentions at first. It took her just a few moments to realize, and she quickly responded. "Nah. Rena, why don't you open the door?"

Rena, on the other hand, had absolutely no clue what her friends were up to. She titled her head slightly in confusion. "Rena will open the door, Rena will," she decided. She grabbed the handle and pulled it down before stepping inside. As soon as she did so, a giant bucket of water suddenly fell down on her. As Rena stood there completely drenched with a look of utter shock and confusion on her face. Keiichi and Mion looked at Rena with a sigh and shook their heads.

"Rena, the first thing you should expect when walking in is _her_ traps!" Keiichi laughed. Mion laughed along with him. Rena turned to the both of them, looking upset and hurt at their laughing.

"Rena forgot…" she spoke sounding crushed. Satoko swiftly ran over to her and stopped when she got to her soaked friend. She observed her for a few moments with a frown on her face.

She placed her hands on her hips and looked worried. "Rena, you never fall for those traps! It's usually Keiichi-san, the weak peasant!" she cried out. Rena looked down in embarrassment.

"Hey!" yelled an insulted Keiichi.

Rena frowned and tried to avoid her friend's gazes. "Rena is okay. Rena will be fine," she reassured her friends. However, her tone sounded unconvincing. Hanyuu wandered up to the group and stared at Rena, but said nothing.

Satoko got closer to her friend to get a closer look. "You don't look okay, Rena."

Suddenly, Rena raised her head and got a look at Satoko's worried and slightly puzzled expression. Her frown suddenly turned upside-down. "Hau! Worried Satoko-chan is sooo cute! I'm going to take her home!" she cried as she grabbed the unsuspecting girl and pulled her to her chest. Rena had a soft spot for cute things. If she found something that she considered cute; she'd grab it and attempt to take it home. Sometimes, this included humans. Rika, Satoko, and Hanyuu were frequent victims. Satoko began to struggle to get free of the red-haired girl's grasp without much success. Hanyuu wandered up to the both of them, staring at her poor friend who was busy almost being strangled.

Rika fake tripped and fell flat on her face with a small bam. Rena looked up from nuzzling Satoko with her cheek and glanced at the miko on the ground. Slowly, Rika pulled herself up and sat down with tears in her eyes. "Mii, I tripped…" she spoke sadly. This act was all too cute for the red-haired girl who instantly abandoned Satoko and tackled Rika.

"Hau! Rika-chan is sooo cute!" she bellowed as she rocked Rika back and forth in her arms. The blue-haired girl looked like she was about to choke to death, though at this point Keiichi figured that she was used to it.

Mion poked Keiichi on the shoulder, causing him to whip around and look at directly into her emerald green eyes. She smiled at him. "I hope you haven't forgotten your punishment game," she reminded him. He noticed that her tone didn't sound daunting, but sounded nice and kind.

He let out a small sigh. "I haven't, Mion," he grumbled. He dreaded the very though of having to dress in her clothes. Who knows what she brought? Keiichi hadn't really seen Mion wear variety of clothes. It seemed to him that she usually wore a simple t-shirt and jeans with the exception of her school uniform. It couldn't be too bad, could it?

The door opened up, revealing the teacher. Her name was Rumiko Chie. She was the only teacher at the school and taught all the kids, including the older ones. However, school to the older kids was more like a study hall. When the bucket had hit Rena, some of the water had spilt on the on ground. Chie didn't seem to notice and as she walked in, slipped and fell on the ground with a loud thud. All the kids looked at each other. Satoko realized that the blame would probably be on her and dashed behind Rena. Chie lay on the ground for a good few minutes without quivering one bit. "Is she okay?" wondered a young boy out loud.

"Maybe she passed out?" suggested Hanyuu.

Satoko poked her head out from behind Rena and stared at Chie. "Uhm, did I kill her?" she asked her friends. They all shook their heads as they stared blankly at their teacher.

"Does anyone know a way to get her up?" asked Keiichi with his hands on his hips and a troubled look on this face.

Rena frowned. "I don't know. Is Chie-sensei all right? Is she?"

"I have an idea!" Rika suddenly proclaimed. Everyone in the room turned to face her. She wore a mischievous grin on her face as she spoke, "I heard some kids trashed the curry garden outside. Nipah~!"

Suddenly, Chie jumped up. "Curry garden!" she screamed as she ran outside to go check on it. Everyone gave Rika a very confused glance as she simply smiled at all of the kids.

After a few minutes, Chie returned. "Alright children! Time for class!" she spoke cheerfully. Everyone in the room walked to their seats and sat down. Mion opened up her folder and took out her math homework. She skimmed down the sheet with a frown.

"Uh Kei-chan? I don't know how you do this," she admitted to the boy who sat next to her.

Keiichi sighed. "Mion! You're a year older than me, it should be you who is teaching me if anything!" he shouted.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah yeah yeah. Whatever. I don't understand math. This old man thinks that us teenagers should spend our lives outside and having fun rather than doing homework. Math should grow up and solve it's own problems."

"That's just like you, Mion," he sighed as he leaned over to look at her math homework. He pointed a pencil towards the first problem and took out a blank sheet of paper. "This one is easy. First, you have to do this," he explained while writing out what she had to do on his sheet of paper. "Then, you do this. Does it make sense now?"

Mion frowned at his explanation. "I don't get it," she said bluntly.

Keiichi hit his face with his palm. "Alright, let me try this again," he said as he reached out to Mion's sheet of paper. As he did, he placed his hand down on Mion's. She instantly froze and turned red. Her brain wasn't processing anything other than the fact that Keiichi's hand was touching hers. "Does it make sense now?" he asked her. Mion didn't even notice that he had been explaining the problem.

She instantly snapped out of it. "H-Huh? What did you say?" she asked.

"Mion! Listen to me! You have to do this, and then you have to do this…" he tried explaining for the third time.

Mion suddenly smiled. "Oh! I get it now!" she declared. Keiichi shook his head and sighed.

"Listen Mion, how are you going to get into college if you can't even solve a problem like this? I'm a year behind you and I already know how to do it!" he exclaimed. She shrugged. Keiichi hit his head on the desk. "Mion, I won't forgive you if you don't get into a good college, you hear me?" he told her. Mion nodded. Keiichi frowned. _This girl can be so strange at times_ he thought.

~~~~X~~~~

"Class dismissed!" yelled the teacher as the younger students grabbed their things and rushed out the door in excitement. Mion got up from her chair and put away her homework.

"Hey Mion-san, what's the club activity today?" asked a curious Satoko.

Mion crossed her arms. Then she realized. "Oh crap! I gotta show these guys around the village. I guess we don't have club today. Sorry!" she apologized.

"What!" Keiichi spoke with shock. Mion clapped her hands together.

"Sorry about that Kei-chan! But before I go," she spoke mischievously. Keiichi gulped. "Kei-chan, your punishment game!" she cried out as she suddenly ran out of the classroom. She returned a few minutes later wearing her normal yellow t-shirt and jeans before handing Keiichi her school clothes. "You're wearing this. Go get changed now!" she ordered him.

Keiichi groaned and walked to the bathroom to change into her clothes. Once he did, he looked down at himself. They didn't fit him too well. He felt oddly embarrassed wearing Mion's clothes. He wasn't sure why though. It was just like wearing that maid outfit that he must have worn over a thousand times, right? So why was this more embarrassing?

All of the girls laughed as he walked into the room wearing Mion's clothing. "Keiichi-san is such a pervert!" hollered Satoko as she hooted with laughter.

"Au au au! Keiichi looks like he enjoys dressing up in Mion's clothes!" laughed Hanyuu.

"Hey, you! It's not like I want to do this! Mion is the real pervert!" accused Keiichi, pointing his finger at his friend.

Satoko pouted. Everyone laughed at her reaction. She looked around at them and stomped her foot in anger. "I don't get it! What's so funny?"

"Hau! Confused and angry Satoko-chan is sooo cute! I'm gonna take her home!" squealed Rena as she ran up and nearly strangled Satoko to death for the second time that day.

Mion smiled at her friends. They were all such a cool group to hang out with. She treasured each and every one of them. _Anything. I'd do anything to protect these guys _she decided. "Well!" she then exclaimed loudly, "I got to go! See you all!"

"Bye bye, Mi-chan!" Rena waved. Satoko took this opportunity to escape, breathing heavily. Hanyuu poked her friend curiously. "Huh? Why is Satoko breathing so heavily, why?" asked Rena. They all laughed at her ignorance as to why her "take it home" mode was so dangerous.

~~~~X~~~~

Mion stopped in front of the bus stop. _I think that Batcha said to meet the new people here _she thought as she looked around the area. She slowly sat down on a bench and waited. The area was completely green and fresh save for the dirty bus stop she was sitting in. Posters from the time of the Hinamizawa dam war littered the walls with various protests written on them. Seeing them made Mion remember the times of the dam war. She remembered how she had gotten arrested several times for violence even though she was only eleven years old at the time. She also thought back to how Shion and her decided to pull pranks on the people who were attempting to build the dam and getting to a whole bunch of trouble with both the construction workers and their family._ Now that I think back to it, just hanging out and tricking people with Shion was a blast. I really miss pulling tricks on the elders. I guess we're just too old now,_ she thought with a sigh.

A bus was beginning to come down the old road. Dust and dirt flew everywhere as it drove towards the bus stop and stopped. The door opened to reveal two adults around the same age. They stepped down from the bus carefully and thanked the driver before it sped away, leaving a trail of cloud of dirt. The two of them coughed as the dirt flew at them and attempted to shield their eyes. When the cloud of dirt disappeared, they looked at Mion. "Hello, are you our guide?" asked the male adult.

Mion nodded. "Yes, I'm your guide," she said. She stood up and bowed to the both of them. "My name is Sonozaki Mion. Welcome to Hinamizawa. What are your names?"

The woman smiled at the teenage girl. "My name is Ohba Hideko, and this is my husband, Ohba Kin," she introduced as she gestured to her husband. "It's nice to meet you, Sonozaki-chan."

Mion gave the both of them a grin. "It's nice to meet you both as well! Now, I'll show you around Hinamizawa, follow me!" she told them both as she began to walk towards the main area of Hinamizawa. As they walked, Mion pointed out various buildings and shrines to them. The both of them would stare at whatever Mion pointed to curiously and asked several questions.

"You seem to know this place well, " commented Hideko, "were you born here?"

Mion stuck out her chest. "Yes! I was born and raised here in Hinamizawa!" she answered proudly.

"You seem to take great pride in that," noted Kin.

She nodded. "Of course! To be born and raised here in Hinamizawa… that's a citizen's greatest pride!" she told them boldly. They both chuckled at her pride. "I'm going to take you both to the Furude Shrine in Hinamizawa's main area right now. It's very impressive!" she informed them.

They both nodded and followed the green-haired girl who seemed to be having a blast talking about her hometown. It was obvious to both of them that Hinamizawa was very special to this girl.

"This is the Furude Shrine!" she said as she pointed to the great shrine in front of them. They both gasped in awe of the magnificent shrine before them. "It belongs to the Furude family, as you can tell by the name. This is the shrine located at the very center of Hinamizawa, so that means we're in the center point right now," she explained to them.

"Wow, this is a magnificent town. I think that our kids will enjoy living here," commented Kin.

Mion blinked at him. "You have kids?" she asked.

He smiled and nodded at her. "Yup! I have a daughter and a son about your age. My daughter is sixteen and my son is fifteen."

"Do you know if they will be transferring in the local school?" she asked them.

They nodded. "Yes," Hideko responded, "they will be. We took a little look at the school last time we went here, but we didn't explore this area. This place is just amazing."

Mion looked happy at the nice comments about her hometown. "I'm glad you guys like it. Come on; let's just finish up this tour. There's a little bit more to see," she explained to them both before she started walking forward towards more shrines.

She stopped in an open space and took a moment to look around the area. "This is where the Watanagashi festival will be held this June. It's Hinamizawa's one and only festival! Please look forward to it. It's very fun," she informed them both.

"Cotton drifting? What a strange name for a festival," marveled Kin.

"Yup. The miko of the Furude shrine will use a ceremonial hoe to tear open some old futons, then we drift the cotton town the river, hence the name cotton drifting. It sounds weird, but to us, it's a time of celebration and fun in Hinamizawa!" explained Mion who was getting excited at the very idea of the Watanagashi festival coming up in about a month. "Alright, let's go this way and then we're done…"

As they were walking, they bumped into two young girls who were carrying various bags of groceries. Mion greeted both of them, "Ah, Rika-chan, Hanyuu-chan! How are you?"

Hanyuu smiled up at her classmate. "Au! We're great, thank you!" she responded.

Rika looked up at the two adults behind Mion and asked, "Who are these, Mii?"

Mion pointed to the adults. "These are two people who will be moving in. They have two children, too!" she told them both happily.

"We are always open to new villagers. This is a wonderful village! Please enjoy yourselves~!" Hanyuu spoke joyfully to the two adults.

"Thank you! We think your village is amazing. Hopefully our children will like this village as well!" said Hideko to the young girl who was just too adorable.

Rika looked down at her groceries and frowned. "Mii, we have to go now. We gotta cook some dinner and Satoko is probably hungry! Good bye, Mii!" she said as she and Hanyuu ran towards their house.

The two adults watched as they ran away. "They are both very cute," they said. Mion nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, unknown to them, the two girls stopped running. Rika looked down at her feat. "Hey, Hanyuu? Did you hear that? Two new children," said Rika to Hanyuu. Hanyuu looked down at her feat as well.

"Yeah, I heard it Rika," she answered.

Rika glanced at her friend. "I have a bad feeling about this, Hanyuu. Do you sense something?"

Hanyuu shook her head. "Rika, I think you're just being a little too scared about this. The new kids aren't going to do us any harm. I don't think they'll bring any problems to the village.

Rika looked up at the setting sun and took a deep breath. It was very beautiful. "Yeah, I guess you're right Hanyuu. I'm being a scaredy cat," admitted Rika.

~~~~X~~~~

Mion placed her bag down and fell onto her futon with a sigh. _Well, that was kind of fun,_ she thought as she rolled over. _I wonder what the new guys will be like. Hm._ The doorbell ringing interrupted her train of thoughts. "I'll get it!" she called as she ran toward the door. Her grandmother watched as her Mion opened up the door.

"Ah, Kei-chan! What are you doing here?" she asked him curiously. In front of her was Keiichi holding a bag.

He lifted the bag up and handed it to Mion. "Here are your clothes. I decided to bring them back today. Just 'cuz," he said.

Mion took the bag and looked down into it. "Oh, thank you Kei-chan!" she responded.

"Alright, that's all. I'll be off! See you at school tomorrow," Keiichi said as he began to walk away.

"Alright, see ya Kei-chan!" she waved to him as he left. She shut the door and began to walk back to her room. _What a long day,_ she thought with a sigh.

~~~~X~~~~

**Long chapter is loooooong. So much stuff that seems unimportant but actually is important. Sorry if this chapter was too boring, etc.**

**I actually wrote this over small periods of time. I wrote the part in the beginning during science class (I finished my work + we had a sub who said do anything we wanted until the end of class) and I wrote part of the part with Rika and Hanyuu during math class after I finished a test. I may or may not update in a little white, just warning you.**

**I want to thank all my reviewers so far! Thank you so much. It means a lot to me, really.**

**~Crimso.**


	4. Chapter 3: Best Friends

**This chapter is just for building up romantic tension and not much else. Don't worry, not all the chapters will be like this. **

"Alright, we're done! Class dismissed!" called Chie. Everyone ran out of the door in a flurry save for the club members. All of them began to push their desks together to form a larger surface. They each pulled their chair up to the bunch of desks and sat down.

"Alright, club leader! What's our game today?" asked a fired-up Satoko.

Mion crossed her arms and closed her eyes. "Hm…" she said as she thought. Rika smiled at her club leader's hard thinking. It was her club activities that gave her some fun when she was stuck in the endless loop. Mion's club activities were always random, and they never repeated. The games she chose were the only thing Rika could never predict about each world. "How about if we play sympathy?" She suggested.

Keiichi panicked. "Not that game! I suck at that game!" he cried out.

Rika shot him a smile. "The club leader has spoken, Keiichi. The game has been decided. Now get ready to play because you don't want the punishment game! Nipah~!" she beamed.

Satoko let out one of her shrill laughs. "Keiichi-san is terrible at this game! He always picks the most obscure things!"

Sympathy was a rather simple game. A topic was chosen and each person had to write down the first thing that came to his or her mind upon hearing the topic. If someone else wrote the same thing as them, they'd get as many points as the number of people who chose that word.

Mion pulled out a dictionary from the area containing various supplies for students such as pencils, scissors, and rulers. She handed each person a miniature whiteboard, a dry-erase marker, and a cloth to wipe off the marker. She then opened the dictionary to a random page. The cover of it slapped on the table loudly as she looked at the word that had been chosen. "The first topic is animals!" she called out. As soon as she said the word, everyone began to jot his or her word down on the whiteboard. Everyone did, besides Keiichi. _I have to think real carefully about the word I pick._ He put the dry-erase marker to his chin._ I got it! _"Everyone have their word?" asked Mion. All the club members nodded in sync. "Alright, flip over your white boards!"

Keiichi took a look at the words that had been chosen. The words were cat, dog, cat, cat, and cat. He looked at his own word. He had written bird.

"Four points to me, Hanyuu, Rika, and Rena!" announced Mion.

Satoko frowned. "HEY! Everyone knows that dogs are better than cats!" she said in anger.

Rika shook her head at her friend. "I'm more of a cat person. Meow," she responded.

"I'm with Rika!" Hanyuu spoke cheerfully.

Mion closed her eyes. "I gotta say Satoko, I'm a cat person as well… but it looks like Kei-chan is a bird person! Ahaha!" she laughed.

"Hey! I just chose the first thing that came to mind!" he snapped at her.

She smirked at him with her arms still crossed around her chest. "Heh. You need to play harder Kei-chan!" she told him before she closed the dictionary and opened it to another random page. The club members erased their whiteboards and got ready for their signal. "Alright, the word is fragile!" she called out. Everyone quickly jotted down answers. _Play harder… let's see. What would they think of? Oh, I know... _Keiichi thought as he began to scribble down the word that came to mind. "Alright! Let's see your answers, everyone!" she ordered. All of the club members turned their whiteboards over. The answers were glass, vase, glass, glass, vase. Keiichi frowned when he revealed his word. No one thought of his answer. "Okay, so that's 2 points to Rika-chan and Hanyuu-chan, and three points to me, Rena, and Satoko!"

Keiichi grumbled and slumped down in his seat with his hand clutching his head. _Darn, I thought I had that one!_

"The word is weapon!" announced Mion. Keiichi decided that this time, he had to think really hard. What kind of weapon would they each think of? _Damn, how would I know… _he thought before he decided to just write down the first thing that came to mind. "Alright, turn over your whiteboards!" she said. The club members put their dry-erase markers down and showed what they had written to the rest of the club. The words were cleaver, traps, mop, sword, and mop. He looked at his own word, which was bat. "Point goes to Rika and Hanyuu!" Mion called. Her excited face suddenly dropped and she blinked at the two winners. "Uh, Rika? Hanyuu? I don't think a mop is a weapon…"

Rika grinned. "A mop is a very useful weapon! Isn't that right, Hanyuu?" she said as she gestured towards the horned girl.

Hanyuu nodded in agreement. "That's right! A mop is the most deadly weapon!"

The green-haired female sighed and shook her head at the two younger girls. "Oh well. Let's move on to the next one!" she said. She opened up the dictionary to another page. "Okay, so the category is friend!" she announced.

Keiichi froze for a few seconds. Friend? The category was friend? Who the heck should he right down? He didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. _Well, Mion IS my best friend… so I'll just write her name down_ he decided as he began to spell out her name. Keiichi looked up. "Okay, I'm ready!" he called out. Everyone was done writing down his or her answers, except Mion.

Mion glanced at everyone. _G-Gah! Do I write Kei-chan's name here?_ She asked herself as she stared at the whiteboard blankly. _Hey, Sonozaki Mion? What are you so scared about? It's not like the category is love! Just write his name down!_ Mion bit her dry-erase marker. Should she just write his name down? She decided not to think anymore on the matter as she sloppily wrote his name down. "Uh yeah! Show answers!"

Hanyuu picked up her whiteboard. "My answer is Rika!" she said as she showed Rika's name written on her whiteboard.

Satoko grinned when she heard Hanyuu's answer. "I picked Rika, too!" she told the rest of the club happily as she showed the name written down.

Rena looked down at her answer. "I wrote Mi-chan's name! Hau!" she said.

Keiichi hesitated. "I wrote Mion as well," he told them. Mion shot him a glance. He wrote her name? Why? Mion felt her heart beat fast. _Kei-chan... _

"Rika? What does Satoyuu mean?" asked a confused Satoko with her head tilted to the side.

Rika shot her one of her signature smiles. "I couldn't decide between Satoko and Hanyuu… nipah!" Keiichi could see Rena's eyes begin to light up and focus on Rika.

Hanyuu glanced at Mion who was looking rather shocked and confused at the same time. "Mion, what did you write?" asked Hanyuu.

She looked away. "I wrote Kei-chan's name," she admitted shyly as she tried to hide her red face from Keiichi. Thankfully, her attempts to do so worked. Unfortunately, Rena was able to spot her blush and quickly abandoned the idea of taking Rika home as she pounced onto her club leader.

"Hau! I'm gonna take Mi-chan home! She's soooo cute!" Rena declared loudly as she began to rub her face into Mion's chest.

Keiichi looked alarmed at Rena's actions. "Hey Rena, you better not do that!" he called to her. But Rena was so absorbed in Mion's cuteness that she didn't hear him.

Rika got a little concerned. "Hey Hanyuu, let's pull her away…" she suggested to the girl sitting next to her. Hanyuu nodded. They both grabbed Rena and began to pull her away from her startled club leader. As they tugged and tugged, they realized that Rena's grip on Mion was very tight. "Harder!" cried Rika as Hanyuu nodded and began to pull harder. Suddenly, Rena's grip on the green-haired girl became undone and both her and the two younger girls were sent flying across the room into a stack of boxes full of school supplies.

Rena looked disappointed. "Hau… Rena wanted to take Mi-chan home…" spoke the crestfallen red-haired girl as she lay on top of Rika and Hanyuu.

"Rena?" spoke a muffled voice, "can you please get off of us?" Rena looked under her and saw Rika and Hanyuu lying beneath her, crushed.

"Hau! Rena is sorry, Rena is sorry!" she apologized as she got off of both of them.

Mion stood up and brushed her skirt off. "In any case, Rena and Keiichi get two points and so do Satoko and Rika. Shall we continue?" she said. They all nodded.

Keiichi grinned. He had _finally_ gotten his first two points. Maybe he could finally win Sympathy after all. Sympathy was a game they wouldn't play too often. Keiichi was known for _always_ getting last place in Sympathy. Every once in a while he would score a point or two, but that rarely happened. He would always pick the most obscure things. The point of the game was to guess what the other players would pick. Maybe this time, he would win.

~~~X~~~

"Damn," Keiichi cursed as he walked down the familiar path to his house carrying Mion's bag as well as his own. Rena had had to go to Okinomiya and had left in the opposite direction. "I thought I could win that one!" he growled to himself.

Mion waved a finger at him. "Tsk. You know you always lose Sympathy. Did you really think you could win that one?" she reminded him.

"Well, I was hoping I'd get more than just two points," he murmured as he looked away from the female. He didn't want to see whatever kind of face she had on. He knew she was just trying to anger him.

She patted him on the back. "Well, at least you got two points! That's two more than the usual amount of points!"

Keiichi felt like hitting the boasting girl walking next to him. Unfortunately for him, heavy bags currently occupied both of his hands. Instead, he simply growled at her.

Suddenly, she stopped walking. It took Keiichi a few seconds to realize that she had stopped and he kept walking. "Hey, Kei-chan…" she said to him in a low voice. He whipped around to look at the green-haired girl standing behind him.

"Yes, Mion?"

She looked away, embarrassed. "Did you really mean it?" she asked.

Keiichi blinked at her, puzzled. "Did I really mean what?"

"You know," she muttered, still avoiding his gaze, "did you really mean it when you wrote me down for friend?"

Keiichi began to wonder why she would ask this question. Now that he thought about it, she did begin to act a little funny when he had revealed his answer. What did she do that made Rena want to take her home so bad, anyways? Keiichi had brushed that off as Rena's usual behavior, but now that he thought about it, Mion wasn't usually on her take out list. "Of course I meant it, Mion. You're my best friend in the whole world, after all," he answered sounding slightly confused by her sudden question.

Mion smiled slightly, though it quickly disappeared as she bit her lip. "I'm your… best friend?" she asked for clarification. He nodded.

"Yes Mion. You're the best friend I've ever had," he smiled at her.

Mion's expression didn't change. She looked somewhat nervous. _Come on Mion!_ She thought, _just tell him you like him and be done with it! The worst that could happen is that he rejects me and I move on, right?_

He frowned at her sudden actions. "Is there something wrong?"

She began to gather up courage. _Okay Mion! You can do this!_ "…You're my best friend, too," she responded. _Stupid Mion, that wasn't what you were supposed to say!_

Keiichi grinned at her response. He strode over to the female and patted her on the head. Mion's eyes widened upon feeling his hand on her head. "We'll always be best friends, right?" he asked.

Mion nodded slowly. "Right…" _Yeah. That's right. Just friends._

A moment of silence followed. None of them moved or spoke. Mion still had her bangs covering her eyes and looked somewhat upset for a reason the male could not point out. He just stood there for a while, looking at her. "Sooo…" he decided to break the silence.

"Uh… What's up?" asked Mion, raising her head.

"Not much, what about you?" he responded.

"Not much. I've just been doing stuff around the house and such. Prepairing for the Watanagashi festival and giving tours to new villagers…" she answered going through the list of things she had done in the past day or two.

He looked up at the setting sun. The sun was always gorgeous at this time of day, especially in Hinamizawa. "New villagers, huh?" he commented.

Mion nodded. "Yeah. I had to show this couple around Hinamizawa the other day. They seemed very interested in all the shrines. They told me they had two kids our age as well."

Keiichi smiled and remembered the time when he had first toured Hinamizawa. During that time, he was still depressed and upset from the whole incident with the toy gun. Before he had moved to Hniamizawa, he had gotten really upset and began shooting young girls with a toy gun. It got to the point where he accidently shot a young girl right in the eye causing permanent damage. Feeling so guilty, he admitted the whole thing to his parents who immediately got upset at both him and themselves. A good parent would always notice when their kid was in trouble, right? Then why didn't they see Keiichi's suffering?

He remembered when they first took him to look at the rural village. It was a huge difference from the big city in which he had lived before. The quiet and peaceful atmosphere was very calming to his spirits compared to the big city. He could relate to the story Mion was telling, about how the new comers were enchanted by the nature of Hinamizawa.

"That's nice. I wonder why they decided to move out here. There's always a reason for moving to this small town, isn't there?" he said with a large smile as a breeze blew past him.

Mion nodded. "Yeah. I don't see why a person would want to move to an old village like Hinamizawa. The city seems so fun and interesting. The biggest city I've ever seen is Okinomiya," she said with as the wind blew her ponytail to the side slightly.

"That's not true," Keiichi said, looking somewhat disturbed. "The city isn't a very nice place. It's packed full of people who aren't very nice. Not only that, but the place is all dirty and the air is disgusting. Over here, the air is nice and fresh and I haven't met a single person I don't like." He suddenly paused. "Actually, I take that back. I haven't met anyone here I don't like besides Takano and her crew."

Mion giggled at his comment about the woman who had attempted to take the lives of everyone in Hinamizawa. "Says you, the city boy! I bet it would be different for someone like me who has lived in Hinamizawa her whole life. I haven't been allowed to go outside Hinamizawa or Okinomiya. I'd like to see the city. I don't see why you prefer it here," she said to him as she grinned.

Keiichi stuck his tongue out at her. "Says the country girl! That place is nasty. I would never want to go back there. Besides," he put his hand on her head again and ruffled her head, "I wouldn't have ever met you guys."

The female's face turned a bright red and she felt herself grow hot. She then found herself staring directly into the boy's sapphire blue eyes with her emerald green ones. He began to speak, "you brought me into the club and taught me how to have fun. Without you, Mion, I would have still been a depressed boy. And that's why…" he paused a moment. Mion took a deep breath in preparation for Keiichi's next words. Did he like her, too? "That's why you're my best friend!" he finished with a large smile spread across his face.

Mion suddenly felt crushed. She was stupid for getting her hopes up in the first place. Her joyful face faltered for a moment when he finished her sentence, but quickly regained it's cheery smile when she realized she couldn't let her disappointment show. "Yeah!" was all she could say. At that moment, she wondered if Keiichi could see through her happy façade and see the turmoil in her heart.

~~~X~~~

Mion swirled a cup full of milk in her hand. She stared at the liquid as it formed a whirlpool in the center. She felt depressed and heartbroken. Slowly, the girl took a sip of the milk in the cup and put it down on the counter when she had finished. Bored, she began to cook herself some dinner without putting any effort into the food she was making. Her mind was focused on more important things than the quality of her dinner. _Why am I so upset? _She wondered. She shouldn't be this upset, right? _I have to forget about the whole thing. It means nothing. Kei-chan was just trying to be nice. Besides, he's right. He's still my best friend._

She placed her food into a bowl and sat down at the table. She took a bite of the food and swallowed. The taste was average. Mion was a much better cook than she thought, and could make amazing meals if she tried. She, however, hated putting effort into anything and often didn't even try cooking anything good. Pushing the bowl away from her when she was done, she let out a sigh and trotted over to her and Shion's room. She noticed that Shion wasn't there. _Huh, that's odd_.

Mion sat down on her futon and sprawled out her body. She began to contemplate various things in her mind as she stared morosely at the ceiling._ Sonozaki Mion, you're weak. So what if you can do marital arts, fight with swords, win almost all club actives, and shoot guns? You're going to let something as simple as what he told you bother you? Ha! _She scolded herself in her mind. She clutched her stomach as she continued to think. _Just forget about it. It's no big deal._ She rolled over on her side and decided to go with what her mind was telling her to do. She decided to try to forget about the situation. _…My stomach feels terrible._

Suddenly, Mion jumped up from her futon and ran to the bathroom. She leaned into the sink as she threw up all of her dinner. With a sigh, she turned on the sink and washed out whatever just came out of her stomach. _Damn, Shion got me sick!_

As if on cue, Shion's voice rang out, "Onee? What's wrong? You don't look good," she said softly as she walked up to her sister and put a hand on her shoulder. Mion flinched at the feel of her sister's hand on her shoulder.

"You got me sick, Shion," grumbled Mion unhappily.

Shion took her hand off of her identical twin's shoulder and looked at her apologetically. "Well, I guess you'll be staying here with me tomorrow," she muttered.

Mion made an unpleasant face upon hearing Shion's remark. _Great._

~~~X~~~

**Crimso's Pretty Long Author's note.**

**Okay, so I'm sorry that there's not much action or horror in this story yet but I have to set everything up. Besides, what good is a story if you just skip right to the good parts? Think about it. Imagine the first six arcs with just the horror and none of the club activities or any other interactions. Understand? Good :P. I just hope I'm not being too broing. I need Mion's feelings for Keiichi to seem more realistic and other things like that. I'm sure everyone who has written a fanfiction about 15+ chapters would understand.**

**Moving on to other topics… nipah. School has been rough on me (we have two weeks left before spring break but…) recently. I just had two tests today and I have two projects due soon as well as another test. Also, just the amount of homework that we're been given on top of that. I might not update in a little while, just warning you. But I will never abandon this fic unless my Higurashi obsession dies (it's been going on since June. I think it will last). **

**I really need your reviews. Please let me know if I'm taking too long to get to the point or if you see any grammatical errors. I want to make this fanfic as good as I can. Of course I realize that the Higurashi fanfic section doesn't have too many fics or reviewers so review counts are generally lower. I looked back to when I used to write for a different and more popular section (though notably people in that fandom thought any fanfiction was good and the actually quality of the fanfictions was much lower than the Higurashi section). I looked at my 7 chapter fanfic with 14,000 words and saw it had about 42 reviews. Whoa. I'd just be glad if I could get at least two reviews per chapter.**

**Thank you if you read all of this author's note.**

**I will have time to update A LOT in about a week for two weeks. Spring Break lasts two weeks and that's time for quite a few new chapters. Wish me luck getting through the next week.**

**~Everyone's favorite Crimso.**


	5. Chapter 4: Tour

** I'm in the middle of English class right now. I finished my work and I'm bored. I don't like analyzing quotes. I also hope my English teacher never sees this because I will get my butt kicked for not doing work. I don't think he will find this though. I think I should stop doing this stuff in class. **

It was around eleven in the morning when Mion opened up her green eyes. She blinked several times, not fully processing where she was and her current situation. _Oh yeah. I threw up last night and was going to stay at home today… _she remembered. Rolling over, she looked at the clock on her wall. _I've been asleep for around ten hours now. I should get up, but I'm feeling pretty terrible._

"Onee?" called a familiar voice from nearby, startling the still half-asleep female.

"Huh? Shion?" grumbled the tired girl wearily. She stared into the identical eyes of her sister and pulled herself up from the comfort of her warm futon. It took a few moments for the pain in her stomach to come back and she quickly clutched it when it did. Shion watched as her sister dashed to the bathroom and threw up in the sink. She winced upon hearing the revolting sound. Two minutes had passed before Mion came weakly stumbling back to her futon and collapsed.

Shion poked her sister with her finger and waited for a reaction. There was none. "Uh, Onee? Are you okay?" she asked concerned.

Mion managed to nod. "Yeah, I feel a little better now. Damn you for getting me sick, Shion," she grumbled as she buried her face back into her fluffy pillow.

Shion crossed her arms. "I didn't mean to get you sick. You were the one who believed that my fever had ended," she accused. Her face was stern as she looked at her sister spread feebly across the futon. It lightened when she didn't receive a response. Shion took a small glance at the window and the sun beaming through its clear glass. "It's a beautiful day, huh Onee?" she commented.

"Yeah. I could be outside enjoying myself right now if it weren't for _someone,_" she growled, her voice suppressed by her soft futon.

Shion shook her head with a sigh. "Well, on the bright side, we get the whole day to just hang out by ourselves."

One of Mion's green eyes peaked out to look at her twin. "Why would I want to hang out with you when I could be playing with my other friends at school?" she spoke bitterly before burying her head back into her pillow.

Another moment of silence between the two twin sisters followed. The only noise that was heard was that of the noisy higurashi cicadas as they chirped gleefully.

"Onee?" spoke Shion, breaking the silence. When Mion didn't answer her, she continued, "I'm not… that annoying to hang out with, right?" her tone of voice was serious and sounded as if she was genuinely worried. Once again, her sister didn't say anything. Shion bit her lip and looked down. "It's true, isn't it?"

"It's not true," answered Mion, surprising the other green-haired girl. "This old man is just bitter because it seems so nice outside. That's all."

Shion took another quick look at the clear morning outside before quickly looking back at her sick sister. "I'm sorry Onee. I didn't mean to get you sick or anything. So please forgive me," she begged.

"You're forgiven," mumbled Mion. "I know it's not your fault. Once again, I'm just a little bitter. Batcha wanted me to show the new kids around the village as well."

Shion's eyes grew with curiosity. "New kids?" she said. "Well, that's kind of odd. I hope they're nice," she commented.

Mion rolled her head so that she could see Shion. "Yeah. I hope Kei-chan will do it for me, then," she murmured.

Shion looked down at her hands and began to count on her fingers. "We've gotten a lot of new kids recently. Hanyuu came in last year, and Keiichi just before that… Onibaba even let me stay here in Hinamizawa," she listed. "We're really growing, aren't we? Our club."

"Yeah," Mion agreed. "I know."

Shion put her hands down and her attention once again was on her sister. "It's kind of strange. We don't really get time alone anymore. That's why I'm glad we can have time to talk alone like this. Just you and me," Shion spoke softly as she placed her hand on her sister's.

Mion's annoyed expression instantly softened. "Yeah. It's kind of happy and sad at the same time, you know?"

She nodded. "So, do you want to go outside? It's not like you're so sick you can't go out, right?" she asked. Her hand that was touching her sister's grasped it and she tugged it slightly. Mion slowly stood up unsteadily and stumbled to the door. Shion helped her sister there, her hand still holding onto her twin's. The both of them stepped outside, still in their nightclothes. The older twin squinted her eyes as the bright rays hit her face. Shion grasped Mion's hand a little tighter and gave her a slight smile. The temperature wasn't too hot nor was it too cold.

A cicada buzzed on a tree nearby before quickly hovering away to its next destination. Mion, feeling dizzy, leaned on her sister for support. "It's nice. I wish I wasn't feeling so terrible," commented a distraught Mion.

"I agree with you. It's quite beautiful, isn't it? I feel like I haven't seen a day like this in year," Shion agreed with a slightly chuckle. "I'm glad I can spend it with you, Mion."

Mion gave her sister a quick nod but said nothing in response. Her sister's smile quickly turned into a look of worry. "Onee? Is something wrong?" she asked her, concerned.

"No, nothing's wrong," she lied. In truth, she was still feeling a little down. Her tone, however, was unconvincing and did not fool her sister who quickly suspected the opposite of what she had just told her.

She raised an eyebrow. "I don't believe you. Onee, I've seen you more sick than this and you haven't acted this way before," she said.

Mion stiffened. "I said, this old man's just bitter because it's so nice outside!" she repeated hastily.

"Onee? We're outside right now," reminded Shion as she pointed to the green scenery and the sun gleaming in the sky.

Mion glanced around. It was indeed true. They were outside. She hadn't been thinking when she responded. "Damn it, Shion! Why are you always right!" she cried out in defeat.

Shion gave her a sigh and shook her head as if the answer to her question was obvious. "We've been together since we were born. I can read you like a book."

Mion looked down at her bare feet and pushed a few rocks away with her toes. "It's nothing Shion. It's just me being stupid again. Please ignore it," answered Mion. _Yes, just you being a fool _she insulted herself in her mind.

Shion began to grow even more concerned with each time her older twin tried to convince her that absolutely nothing was wrong. "Onee, please don't lie to me. Tell me!" she begged her sister.

Mion didn't look up from the dusty ground. "I'm telling you… it's not anything, just me being a fool. I don't want you to worry about me, Shion," she said calmly looked up and faked a smile.

Frustration began to grow in Shion's chest. "Onee!"

Mion glanced back down at the floor. "It's just that I don't want you to be concerned about my silly issues. You have your own issues, don't you? I don't want to trouble you," she answered.

"You idiot," came a trembling rasp. Swiftly, Mion's eyes drew away from the floor and Shion's face. She felt a pang of shock and guilt when she saw small tears forming in her sister's eyes. "You know, Mion? I feel like we've slowly been growing apart from each other," she admitted while the salty tears previously in her eyes began to trickle down her cheek. Mion shot Shion a shocked expression at her words. This was rather sudden. But deep inside, she knew that Shion was right.

"It started two years ago, didn't it? That's when we truly became different people. When I was sent off to that stupid school," she said as she began to recollect the various fragments of her childhood. "I made a promise to you, didn't I? I promised that I'd break out of that school in no time. And yet, it took me months. And then, when I came back, everything had already changed."

Mion nodded sadly. "That's when we grew further apart, wasn't it? When you finally broke out of that school," she spoke. It was true. The day Shion was to be sent off to boarding school, she turned to Mion and vowed that she'd break free of that school in no time at all. She had believed in her words and had waited. Months eventually passed by and Shion's mission had gone uncompleted. Those months were the longest and most somber of her life. Of course, there was always Rika to talk to. But then again, Rika was only seven at the time and Mion needed a girl her age to talk to.

More tears began to stain the younger green-haired girl's face as she continued to speak. "I got so caught up with Satoshi that I forgot about you. I didn't even consider your feelings at _that_ time," she sobbed. Both twins instantly knew what time she was referring to. It was the time when Shion was forced to strip off three nails for revealing her identity as Mion's identical twin to the public. She had been strictly told to go off and pretend she didn't exist. But in a time of desperate need, she had ended up revealing herself.

Mion intertwined her fingers with Shion's as she listened to her sister. "I don't hate you for attempting to strangle me back then, Shion. I know you were angry with me and I understand why. It's just…" her tone faltered for a moment, "I wish I could have stopped the family from ripping your nails…"

"That wasn't your fault," responded Shion quickly. "In all honesty, I'm glad you didn't stop them. The nail ripping was obviously painful. However, it helped me mature. So for that reason, I'm grateful."

Mion lightly squeezed her sister's hand. "I feel the same way. If I hadn't yelled at Batcha to rip my nails off as well… I think everything would be different."

Shion bit her lip. "Wasn't that the last time we truly felt we were the same?" she pondered out loud.

Mion thought about that for a moment. After Shion had gotten her nails stripped, Mion had yelled at her grandmother and ordered her to make her strip off the same three nails that her twin had lost. She did it just so they can be the same again and because she wanted to feel what her twin felt. She wanted to feel the pain she went through, the sadness, the terror.

"Yeah, you're right. That was the last time," she agreed after giving herself a few minutes to think. "We really have grown apart…"

The tears dripping down Shion's had begun to diminish. However, they suddenly began to pour down her face again and she began to tremble. "We can't even tell each other anything anymore? Why? Why do I feel like our bond is weakening?" she cried out in despair, "aren't we twins? Aren't we supposed to do everything together and tell each other everything? Then why? WHY?" Mion felt her sister's hand slip away from hers and watched as her sister slumped to the ground.

She reached the hand previously holding her sister's to her shoulder and touched it gently. "I'm sorry sis… I'll tell you everything," she comforted. Mion bent down, hugged her sister tightly, and then placed her head against hers.

"You don't have to force yourself," sniffed a still crying Shion, "if you don't want to, then please, you don't have to tell me."

Mion leaned her head closer to Shion's. "No. I'll tell you. Perhaps it will make me feel better…"

Shion clung tightly to her twin and cried into her shoulder. It was very comforting for her to hold her like this. "Shion? Shall we go inside?" asked Mion. She was clearly worried that some innocent villager would be strolling by and catch the two of them comforting each other. That would be embarrassing.

"Yes, please," a weak voice answered. Mion stood up and took her sister back into their room. She sat themselves both on the warm futon and brushed herself off. Shion was attempting to wipe away the tears on her face. The older one of the sisters reached over to wipe the tears forming in the other's eyes.

"Well… it was just a little incident that happened yesterday with me and Kei-chan," Mion began to explain, "we were playing Sympathy."

Shion rubbed her eyes. "Oh. That game Kei-chan sucks at?" she recalled. Her face was slightly red as well as her eyes. However, she _had_ stopped crying.

Mion giggled at her sister's comment. "Yup! The game Kei-chan sucks at horribly! In fact, he just got his first two points yesterday!" she spoke happily in attempt to cheer her sister up.

"Figures! That guy really sucks at Sympathy! That game is ridiculously easy as well!" Shion said with a loud laugh. Shion herself was quite great at Sympathy. Her talents at that game rivaled Mion's. She paused for a moment to put a finger on her chin. "Now how did he get his first two points anyways?" she wondered.

Mion didn't answer at first. She was thinking over how to tell her sister about the incident without looking like some obsessed girl with a _giant_ crush. "Well… the category was friend…" she began to explain, "…and both Rena and him wrote down me for friend…"

Shion tilted her head in a slight confusion. "Oh. I see. But how is that upsetting? Kei-chan and you have always been best friends," she inquired.

Mion nodded. "Of course! Me and Kei-chan are the best of friends!" she proudly exclaimed. "But…" her voice trailed off, "it's what happened after that …"

"After?" Shion said.

"Yup. After. Rena had to go to Okinomiya to do some errand," Mion responded. She froze for a few seconds, again going over how to explain the situation to her twin sister. The whole situation wasn't really a big deal after all, wasn't it? Mion continued on with her story, "Keiichi and I had a little conversation after that. I asked him why he wrote me down for friend instead of Rena or maybe even Rika. He began to give one of his signature huge speeches about me… and in the end, he said 'and that's why… That's why you're my best friend!' I was kind of taken aback…"

Shion let the story process in her brain for a couple of seconds. Of course, it didn't seem like much to her and in fact, it might not even be much to Mion. However, she knew that Keiichi was well known around the village for his amazing speeches. Shion could recall him giving an amazing speech to the teacher after cooking a rice ball in a curry competition on how he should be given a perfect score despite clearly breaking the rules and succeeding. His speeches were not to be taken lightly. If he had given Mion one of those, or even just a small one, it would be likely that she was expecting to get a confession. She knew that Keiichi's inspirational speeches made Mion's heart melt.

"Let me guess… he sounded like he was going to give you a love confession?" she guessed.

Mion looked down at the floor in attempt to avoid her sister's gaze. "Yeah. It really did sound like that. I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up…" she muttered as she played with a strand of her long green hair, embarrassed.

Shion gave her a grim look, which Mion didn't see as her attention was focused on the ground. "I'm sorry, Mion. That does sound harsh," she responded. She wasn't really sure how to comfort her twin sister. Love was harsh. She too knew that very well.

"Yeah. Kei-chan's…" her voice grew shaky with every word she spoke, "…so oblivious…"

The younger twin leaned over the table and placed her hand under Mion's chin. Slowly, she lifted her sister's head so that she could see her face. Her green eyes were filled with pain. "Our love lives suck… don't they?" commented Shion as she continued to stare into her eyes.

Mion nodded sadly. "Yes, yes they do…"

~~~X~~~

A soon as Keiichi walked into the classroom, he knew that something was off. First of all, there were no buckets of water falling down on him. Not only that, but there wasn't even a rope in the doorway to make him fall onto an ink stone. Secondly, try as he might, he couldn't spot Mion. When she had failed to show up at the usual meeting place, he had figured she went on ahead without him. Unfortunately, it looked like she either wasn't coming to school or she was really, really late. Rena was gazing at the top of the classroom in search of Satoko's traps but couldn't find any. She was clearly trying to be cautious after being hit with a bucket of water.

After a while, he found Satoko sitting morosely in a corner with Hanyuu and Rika both giving her worried expressions. Keiichi padded up to the three young girls. "Hey Satoko, Hanyuu, Rika!" he called to them before stopping to stare at yellow-haired girl curiously. "What's up with her?"

Hanyuu and Rika looked at each other. "She's upset over what happened with Rena and Chie," explained Hanyuu.

Keiichi crossed his arms and his expression became puzzled. "That's odd. I always thought she didn't feel in any way sympathetic towards her victims," he said.

"Satoko just feels bad about knocking Chie out I think," Rika piped up, "I'm sure she will be fine in a few days."

Keiichi seemed to take Rika's response and went to sit back down in his chair. He took out his rather old looking notebook from his bag and began to scribble in it. After he was done doing that, he stood up and stretched. Keiichi began to walk nonchalantly towards the end of the classroom to get a blank sheet of paper. If there weren't any traps and there wasn't Mion to pester him about punishment games, then he might as well work on his unfinished homework before class started. Suddenly, a series of giggles broke out. Keiichi turned his head to glare at the little boys and girls who were pointing at him. All of them quickly shut up. Satisfied, Keiichi turned back to the school supplies only to be laughed at once again. "Alright, what's so funny?" he snapped at them.

"Your back," a young boy answered as he pointed to the older boy's back. Keiichi struggled to get a look at his back, but once he did, he saw a piece of paper taped to it. _Huh?_ He thought as he tore it off and read what was written on it out loud. "I am a stupid peasant who eats cow dung for dinner. Satoko rules." In rage, he glanced to the yellow-haired girl still sitting in the corner looking depressed. "Satoko! How dare you trick me!" he yelled.

Satoko began to tremble. A shrill laugh then followed. "Ohohohohoho! I tricked you again, Keiichi-san! You're such a stupid peasant! Ohohohohoho!" she roared with laughter. Keiichi threw the sign to the ground and began to run towards the girl. In alarm, Satoko jumped up and ran as fast as she could in circles around the classroom with Keiichi on her tail.

The door to the classroom sliding open soon interrupted their game of chase. Chie stepped in with two teenagers behind her. Keiichi didn't recognize them, and it took him quite a bit to remember that two new students were supposed to transfer in today. The two of them rushed in opposite directions back to their seats as Chie walked to the front of the class with the two new students. She turned around and began to write their names in white chalk on the blackboard.

"Good morning class! Today, I'd like to introduce two new transfer students!" she announced cheerfully as she gestured to the two students standing next to her. The first one was a girl with pink hair tied up in two pigtails and purple eyes who looked to be around Keiichi's age. To her right stood a boy slightly younger than her with black hair and the same color purple eyes. After Chie had finished writing, she turned back to the class. "First, I'd like to introduce Ohba Etsuko-san," she said as she pointed towards the girl. "Second, I'd like to introduce Ohba Hisao-san. Please treat them well! Etsuko-san, Hisao-san, would you two like to say anything?" she asked them both.

Etsuko stepped forward. "Hello there! I'm Ohba Etsuko and this is my younger brother, Hisao!" she called out as she elbowed her brother in the stomach. He winced and fell backwards. After waiting a few moments, the girl rolled her eyes. "He doesn't like to talk. He's really shy," she said. Hisao struggled to stand up and brushed off his school uniform. "Come on, Hisao! Say something to the class!" she urged.

Hisao hesitated. "Um… I-I'm Hisao," was all he said. Impatiently, Etsuko crossed her arms.

"Stupid little brother! That's _all_ you're going to say?" she snapped. He stepped back and tried to hide himself from the class. "Ugh! Anyways, let's talk aboutme! I'm sixteen and I love to dress up!" she continued. The whole class stared at her. Hanyuu looked at Rika for her reaction to the new transfer students. She seemed to be listening raptly to what they had to say. Keiichi looked at them both curiously. _Interesting people_ he thought. "…That's really it," she ended.

Chie smiled at them both. "Alright class! Please be nice to the new students! Now off to work, everyone!" she called out before walking over to some younger students to help them with some math problems. Etsuko excitedly took her brother's hand and dashed off to where the older kids were sitting.

Keiichi blinked at her as she walked up to him with a tight grip on Hisao who looked like he was about to die of embarrassment. "Hello there! I'm Etsuko, and this is Hisao! Who are you?" she asked him.

"Maebara Keiichi. I'm sixteen years old," he told her with a grin spread across his face. "It's nice to meet you, Etsuko, Hisao."

Rena looked over Keiichi and to the new students. "Hau! My name is Rena!" she greeted. "Rena is glad to make new friends!" she ran up to shake Etsuko's hand. She let go and reached out to shake Hisao's hand. He quickly hid behind his sister when she tried to do so. Rena looked slightly upset by his actions.

Etsuko noticed this. "Oh don't worry about him. He's usually like this. He'll warm up to you guys soon," she told her. Then, she blinked at them both. "Wait a moment, are you two the ONLY teenagers here?" she asked.

Keiichi shook his head. "No. We're missing two people today. I'm guessing they're sick," he informed them both. Just then, Satoko, Rika, and Hanyuu strolled up to the four of them. Hisao poked his head out to look at all three of them. They were little, so Hisao probably found them much less intimidating.

"Welcome to Hinamizawa!" cried both Hanyuu and Rika at the same time as they raised their hands high up in the air. "We hope you like it here! Nipah~!" spoke only Rika, beaming.

Etsuko suddenly hugged Rika. "Well aren't you cute? How about if we play dress up sometime?" she asked.

Rena panicked. "No! Rena will be the one to take Rika-chan home with her! Hauuuu!" she cried.

Satoko raised an eyebrow at the new girl. "I'm Houjou Satoko, and that girl is Furude Rika," she said as she pointed towards Rika. Rika made no struggle against Etsuko. She was used to this behavior.

Hanyuu's gaze was focused on Hisao. "Au au! Do not worry! I was scared when I transferred in, too!" she told him, trying to comfort him. "My name is Furude Hanyuu! I'm Rika's distant relative!" Etsuko stopped hugging Rika and stared at the horned girl for a long time.

"What's with the horns?" she finally asked. Hanyuu looked up at the two black horns upon her head. Her happy face suddenly turned _very_ upset. Etsuko noticed this and placed her hands on her hips. "Huh? Are they toys or something?" she asked again.

Hanyuu began to stamp her feet up and down and flail her arms. "Au au au! They're not toys!" she bellowed.

"Then what are they?" she questioned. Hanyuu continued to throw a temper tantrum. Clearly, she did not like being asked this. Rika did not try to stop her friend. Instead, she stood there with a solemn look at the topic of Hanyuu's horns.

"Um, nee-chan?" a shy voice came out. It belonged to Hisao. "I-I don't think you should ask her that… she looks upset…" The pink-haired girl glared at her brother. He yelped and covered his head in fear. It was clear to the other students that they weren't on such great terms.

Keiichi himself always wondered why Hanyuu had horns. He had asked once, but decided not to ever again when he saw how she reacted. Hanyuu always reacted badly to someone asking about her horns. Perhaps they _were_ toys. Every time someone suggested that, however, Hanyuu would shoot it down right away. "Yeah, perhaps you shouldn't," suggested Keiichi.

Etsuko sighed and shook her head. "What a weird girl," she thought out loud.

~~~X~~~

The classroom began to clear out with the exception of all the club members and the new students. Hanyuu was busy putting away used supplies she was using for an art project with Rika and Satoko. Satoko's school uniform was covered with colorful splatters of paint. Rika was trying to rub off the paint from her uniform, but her efforts were in vain as she was just ruining it even more.

"Hau! Rena wants to take you ALL home!" Rena declared as she attempted to tackle all three of the young girls to the floor. Hanyuu swiftly dashed out the door in a fright. Satoko and Rika, on the other hand, weren't so lucky. Rena pushed them to the floor and held them there. She began to rub her face all over the young girls.

"Rena-san, you're going to get your uniform all dirty and ruined too," Satoko spoke as she tried to push the older girl off of her.

Rena looked down to find the stains covering Satoko and Rika were now on her uniform. For some reason, she didn't seem to mind all that much. "It was worth it!" she decided as she wandered back to her seat.

Keiichi turned his chair so that it was facing Etsuko's desk. "Etsuko-san. I'm guessing you haven't had a tour around Hinamizawa, yet?" he said.

Etsuko faced his way and responded, "yup. I haven't yet. Keiichi-kun, you wouldn't mind showing me around Hinamizawa, would you?" she asked with wide eyes.

"Sure, I don't see why not!" he responded. He then stood up and walked over to Hisao, whose eyes grew with fear as he got closer. "Hisao? Do you want to be shown around the village?" he asked.

He covered his eyes. "Y-Yes! But please have them take me instead!" he cried out as fast as he could before he pointed towards the young girls covered in paint.

"Unfortunately, we have to go to the store so we can get some more soy sauce for dinner. Sorry! Nipah~!" Rika apologized.

Hanyuu stumbled back in the classroom. "You could get Rena to take you," she suggested.

Hisao hesitated. "She's kind of scary," he admitted.

Keiichi laughed. "Rena isn't scary at all! Well, except when she's mad. But I promise you, Rena won't bite you!" he said, giving Hisao a thumbs up to reassure him. Rena stood there with an adorable grin stretched across her face. He still looked unsure the situation. "Well, Rena will give you some time to think. Etsuko and me will go off, then. See you guys!" he said as he ran out the door, Etsuko following him closely behind.

~~~X~~~

A soft breeze blew past Keiichi and Etsuko as they walked down the path to the Furude Shrine. Small bits of dirt were caught in the air and blew right into their faces. A higurashi cicada flew away chirping loudly as the leaves on the tree it was on began to fall off and float to the ground. Etsuko covered her face with her elbow and coughed uncomfortably.

"The roads are kind of dirty," she commented as she continued her futile attempts to get the dust out of her face.

"Yeah, I bet you will get used to it, though. It's not usually very windy," he said, continuing to walk without being bothered by the dirt in the slightest. He crunched some gravel under his foot with every step he took.

Etsuko looked at the various houses that she passed by. "These houses are interesting. They aren't like the city at all," she said as she gazed at one of the particularly old houses that looked like it could crumble to a pile of debris in any second.

Keiichi stopped to see the house she was looking at. It had a strange sign that had long been worn out painted on it. "I think that no one lives there right now. I don't think there's anything in there at all actually," he explained as he put his hands on his hips.

"Oh," was all she said before she continued walking down the path. Keiichi sighed and continued to stroll ahead of her, guiding her through Hinamizawa. It was rather nostalgic. He could remember the day when he was first shown this beautiful yet odd village. At that moment, he wondered if Etsuko had similar thoughts that he had when he first explored the village. She was taking her time to look at the shrines and plant life, but she didn't seem too interested. She bent down to look at a strange bug crawling on a rather extravagant flower. Keiichi smiled at her curiosity. _I was just like that when I first came here._

"Strange flower," she said before wandering further off. They were getting closer to the Furude Shrine. If Keiichi squinted, he could make out the outline of the large shrine in the distance. _Oh yeah, isn't the Watanagashi coming up?_ he suddenly remembered. _Awesome. I can't wait for whatever Mion has planed. I also wonder what the punishment game is. The Watanagashi punishment is usually more intense. I just hope it isn't too sadistic. _

"What's that?" Etsuko asked, breaking Keiichi's chain of thoughts.

"Huh? What's what?" he responded, confused.

"I said, that!" she repeated as she gestured towards the now fully visible Furude Shrine.

Keiichi slapped himself in the face. "Sorry, I spaced out," he apologized. "That's the Furude Shrine. It's the biggest shrine in Hinamizawa," he explained to the pink-haired girl. She let her hand drop to her side as she looked at it.

"That's a pretty big shrine," she said, "who owns it? Does the little girl with horns and that other blue-haired kid own it?"

Keiichi looked surprised. "Yeah, how did you know that?" he asked.

She shrugged. "They said their family name was Furude. And since the shrine is called the Furude shrine, I kind of figured it out. Are they like, priestess or something like that?"

Keiichi nodded. "Yup. You're good at guessing all this stuff. I bet you can't guess what house is mine!" he joked. She didn't seem to go along with the joke and just ignored it. She began to run off towards the shrine, once again surprising the brown-haired boy. "Hey wait up!" he yelled as he chased after her.

She stopped when she reached the giant shrine. She looked up in awe of the humongous building and its very detailed features. She took a small step forward in order to admire it more.

Keiichi finally caught up and slumped over, his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. "Hey, you shouldn't have run off like that," he scolded her. She didn't respond. She was captivated by strange appearance of the shrine. He grinned. "It's rather beautiful," he remarked.

"I guess," she responded.

Keiichi looked puzzled. "You were looking at it like it was the most amazing thing you've ever seen!" he yelled.

She shrugged. "It's just weird. I haven't seen a shrine so big before. I lived in the city."

Keiichi decided not to respond to that and sat down on grass. He played with one of the blades of grass, bored. "Let's get moving," he said to her after a few minutes had passed. She nodded and followed him down various pathways.

They eventually reached a path with a very large building. This building rivaled the Furude Shrine in terms of size. Keiichi could have sworn he recognized it from _somewhere_, but he couldn't but his finger on it. Etsuko, meanwhile, was busy looking at a higurashi cicada climbing on a nearby tree and singing loudly.

"The cicadas are really loud. It's kind of annoying," she complained as she tried to brush some dirt that she had gotten on her from the floor off her skirt.

"Really?" Keiichi responded. "I think it's quite refreshing. It's a nice change from the city."

When Etsuko had finally gotten the dirt out, she shook her head. "I didn't want to move away from the city. I had so many good friends there I had to leave behind. It was Hisao's fault. Mom and dad were worried that he couldn't get along in the _loud_ city with _so_ many people, so they decided to move some place quieter. Ugh!" she said mocking her parent's words and crossed her arms, annoyed.

"Is that why you're upset? You had to leave your friends?" he asked, tilted his head.

The pink-haired girl slowly nodded. "I really miss them," she said sounding upset.

Keiichi began to stride towards her. "Don't worry. I know you miss your friends. Friends are irreplaceable. Losing one or having to leave one will forever leave a gap in your heart," he began to say. He stopped walking as he got directly in line with her. "I know we can't replace the friends you lost, but I can be your friend. I bet Rena, Satoko, Rika, and Hanyuu will be your friends too!"

Her attention shifted from the tree to Keiichi. She wore a look of hope on her face. "Really? You guys will really be my friends?" she asked.

Keiichi nodded and gave her one of his signature grins. "You bet we will! I'm always open to making new friends," he said to her.

Etsuko looked overjoyed at this statement. So much, that she ran up to him and hugged him tightly. "Thank you so much!" she cried out as she hugged him even tighter. Looking surprised, Keiichi threw his arms up.

"Y-You're welcome," he responded, slowly looking down at the girl. After a little bit, she pulled away from him and gave him a cute smile. Keiichi blinked. _Huh, that was kind of sudden._

~~~X~~~

Unknown to the two of them, that giant house in front of them was the Sonozaki Manor. Not only that, but they were standing right in front of the window of Mion and Shion's room. Unfortunately, Mion just happened to catch sight of the two of them as she was talking to Shion about their lives and happenings.

Mion stood there with her jaw wide open as she watched the new girl hug Keiichi tightly. What the heck did she think she was doing? What was she doing with _her_ Keiichi?

Shion crawled over to her sister and also glanced out the window. She looked equally as shocked when she saw the two of them. "Holy cow! What the hell is that girl trying to do with Kei-chan?" she asked no one in particular.

Mion slowly shook her head, disturbed. "I have no clue." She then noticed Keiichi's surprised expression, like he hadn't been expecting the hug. _So she did it on her own?_

Shion crossed her arms and shook her head. "I don't like that girl," she decided, "she seems like the clingy annoying type. But I guess I shouldn't judge her after two seconds."

Mion felt an annoyance grow in her stomach and a feeling that she didn't know. Whatever the feeling was, she didn't like it. It annoyed her to no end.

Shion sighed. "I had a bad feeling about the newcomers. Let's hope that she doesn't go too far with Kei-chan," she said as she wandered back towards the table where she and Mion had previously been conversing.

_Oh what the hell. She won't. Besides, I don't think Kei-chan would either. _Mion decided in her mind as she followed her sister back to the table.

~~~X~~~

**Crimso's Corner:**

**Hello! It's 12:15 in the morning. I wanted to finish this because I was in one of those writing moods. Well obviously I'm not in English class anymore.**

**I also wanted to finish it before the crapload of work I have to do on Monday comes piling in. I think Tuesday should be okay. Maybe I'll start the next chapter then.**

**So in this chapter there were two new characters. Let me just say I hate having OCs in my stories. Unfortunately, these guys are necessary. I don't put OCs in my story just so they can look sexy. These guys are important to the plot and couldn't be avoided. Oh well.**

**Etsuko isn't supposed to come off as likable by the way.**

**So after the next chapter we'll start moving along with the plot some more. Well, we're already moving, but I mean to the main part of the story. Of course, there's going to be much more until we get to the horror so just hang on there. I promise you this fic isn't going to be rainbows and unicorns.**

**Oh yeah, I hope the Shmion interaction in the beginning didn't come off as romantic or anything. Actually, in the middle of study hall, I turned to my friend and went "I'm writing an interaction between sisters and I think it may be coming off as romantic." He told me, "Crimso (not really my name), that isn't good." **

**Don't expect an update next week. I'll see if I can fit one in.**

**I hope the chapter breaks work now.**

**~Crimso**

**P.S: I just misspelled my name five times. Oops.**


	6. Chapter 5: Late Spring Cleaning

**Okay so I lied. Here's my story:**

**So today (it's Monday as I'm writing this) must have been the most stressful day of my life in a looong time. I have some stupid English Project and I spent forever trying to import some videos from my iPhone on to the computer. It was ridiculous. But now it's all good so I figured I'd write a bit to kill some stress.**

**NOTE: This chapter takes place on the same day as the last chapter. It takes place at the same time as when Keiichi is showing Etsuko around Hinamizawa. **

"So, where are we going?" asked Hanyuu as she and Rika dashed through the woods of Hinamizawa.

"We're going to pick a few things up from the house and I'll explain the rest later," Rika responded as she attempted to navigate through the thick trees. It was still daytime, so it was thankfully easy for the two young girls to see their way through the trees and to their house.

"I don't see why our house has to be located in the middle of the woods," Hanyuu said as she accidently bumped into a tree and fell on her butt. Rika stopped and watched as the other girl brushed off her school uniform and promptly ran into another tree.

Rika shook her head with a sigh. "Hanyuu, you need to be more careful. It seems that even after a year of being in your psychical form you still can't seem to remember that it's not possible to run straight through a solid object," she said as Hanyuu once again stood up shakily on her two feet, rubbing her head where she had hit it.

Hanyuu looked down in embarrassment. She then shook off her pain and began to run again, this time a little more slow so she didn't run into anything. It took them another few minutes of Hanyuu slamming into more trees and Rika scolding her until they reached their house. Satoko had offered to get the soy sauce all by herself so she could feel more responsible.

Rika opened up the door to their rather contorted house. Hanyuu had often told Rika that someday, the house was going to fall down. She had decided to ignore that, as it hadn't happened in any previous Hinamizawas she could remember. She ran up the stairs to a small corner in the kitchen and pulled out a large brown box. Hanyuu opened up a nearby cabinet and began to search the shelves vigorously.

"Hanyuu, you ate all the creampuffs last night," Rika reminded her as she began to fill the brown box with various cleaning supplies and tools.

Hanyuu turned to Rika with a frown on her face. "Au au! But I saved a few creampuffs, don't you remember?" she asked.

Rika shook her head without looking at Hanyuu, concentrating on filling up the box. "No, you said that and then you ate them all anyways. You have such a big sweet tooth, Hanyuu," she commented.

Hanyuu looked down in disappointment. "Au au… Creampuffs are better than wine," she said innocently.

When the blue-haired girl heard this, she instantly froze. She dropped the brush she was holding in her hand. Slowly, turning around, she was unable to see the small smirk upon the horned girl's face. "What did you just say?" she asked with a growl.

"I said… creampuffs are better than wine!" Hanyuu repeated.

Rika's eyes narrowed at Hanyuu's threat. "No they are not!" she yelled as she ran towards Hanyuu and head-butted her in the stomach. She fell over on her back, but quickly regained her composure and ran towards Rika to do the same. Rika suddenly realized the danger of Hanyuu using her horned head to ram into her and jumped up on the counter. Hanyuu went charging into the wall and ran into it with a huge crash. Rika closed her eyes and covered her ears, not wanting to see the damage.

"Rika! Help! My horns are stuck!" she cried out. Rika slowly opened her eyes and saw Hanyuu with her two large, black horns stuck in the wall. She jumped off the counter and pulled Hanyuu by the feet with all her might. "It hurts Rika! Au au au!" she cried out as Rika continued to try to get the poor girl out of the wall.

Finally, her horns became unstuck as they both went flying across in room and into a pile of books. Rika and Hanyuu both attempted to stand up but found that their eyes were swirling and they couldn't. They ended up lying there for a good ten or so minutes before Rika finally managed to stand up on her two legs. "Okay, no more fighting over food. That was pointless," she said as she brushed herself off and went back to putting some supplies in the giant box. Hanyuu, meanwhile, was still lying on the ground and looked as if she had just been run over by a stampede of raging wildebeest.

"Hanyuu, I'm ready now. Will you help me carry this?" Rika asked as she stretched herself out. Hanyuu finally snapped out of it and stumbled to her feet and over to Rika, knocking her over in the process. "Okay Hanyuu. You're _really_ out of it today," she grumbled as she lay beneath the horned goddess.

"I'm sorry," Hanyuu managed to reply. She rolled off of Rika and allowed her to sit up, then doing so herself.

Rika picked up the large box and stumbled upon doing so. "It's heavy, Hanyuu. Hold the other side for me, will you? And please don't drop it," she requested. Hanyuu obeyed the other girl. The two of them slowly carried the box out the door and once again tried to find their way through the forest. This was especially hard for poor Rika who was walking backwards the whole time.

"Rika, there's a tree behind you!" Hanyuu would cry every once in a while. Thankfully, Rika wasn't nearly as clumsy as Hanyuu. The two of them managed to avoid most of the trees. However, that didn't mean that they didn't crash into a tree every once in a while.

When the two of them were out of the forest, the both dropped the box on the floor for a quick break. They both sat under a rather large tree and tried to catch their breath.

"What are we doing, anyways?" Hanyuu asked.

"You'll see," Rika responded.

The days were slowly growing warmer and warmer. Rika could feel the hot sun beating right down on her, which was only weakened by the shade of the giant tree they were sitting under.

"This is a very large tree," Hanyuu observed as she looked up at the large twisted branches and the fresh green leaves. A single leaf fell down from the top and drifted down until it finally landed right on top of Hanyuu's nose.

Rika giggled. "Yup. It's the biggest tree in Hinamizawa! Me and Satoko decided to name her Chinatsu!" she spoke happily.

Hanyuu gave her friend a weird look. "You name trees? You're so weird!" she laughed.

"It wasn't my idea! It was Satoko's!" she protested. "Well, I did come up with a name, but otherwise…"

The horned girl found herself staring back up at the tree. "Chinatsu, huh? It's a name that means 'a thousand summers'… how meaningful," she remarked.

Rika looked at her legs. "Yeah. I thought it would be a fitting name… a reminder of our struggles. Satoko agreed to the name, so it wasn't all me," she admitted, looking somewhat guilty.

Hanyuu titled her head. "I don't see why you seem so guilty about it. I think it's a beautiful name!" she said. She stood up and hugged the tree tightly. "Thank you for looking over Hinamizawa, Chinatsu-san!"

The young miko laughed and hugged Chinatsu as well. "Thank you, Chinatsu! Nipah~!"

After a few good minutes of hugging the old tree, Hanyuu and Rika went off again. Hanyuu was once again having trouble carrying the heavy package.

"Hanyuu, if you act a little more serious about this matter, I'll buy you a deluxe Angel Mort buffet ticket," Rika bribed her friend as Hanyuu was about to trip over a small rock. Upon hearing this, Hanyuu's will to get the package over to wherever Rika was leading her strengthened greatly. Angel Mort was known for it's desserts, and Hanyuu was _very _fond of that place.

Hanyuu watched as Rika lead her closer and closer to the center of the village. She began to wonder what Rika's intentions were. What was with the box, and more importantly, where were they heading? "Hey Rika, where are we going?" she finally decided to ask her.

"You'll see when we get there," she replied, focusing on maneuvering through the road covered with several stray rocks lying here and there. Hanyuu found herself almost tripping over yet another rock, but quickly avoided it as she began to visualize the various Angel Mort desserts. She thought of a vanilla sundae coated with rich chocolate syrup and served with a cherry on top. Then, she imagined the strawberry short cake made with the finest strawberries and the sweet taste of the whipped cream that painted the top of the cake. And best of all, she pictured the fluffy creampuffs. Oh, how she loved creampuffs. She loved how the pastry tasted and then combined with the sweetened fresh cream. A little drool began to trickle down Hanyuu's mouth at the very idea of putting one of the creampuffs into her mouth and biting into it.

"Okay, we're there!" Rika suddenly announced. Hanyuu snapped back to reality.

"Huh, what?" was the first thing she said as her vision darted about the village. It took her about ten seconds to realize that she was currently standing directly in front of the sacred Saiguden. The Saiguden was a forbidden tool shed located behind the great Furude Shrine. The rules of the Saiguden were simple: if you weren't from the Furude family, you weren't allowed in.

Rika pulled out a key with a pink bow tied around it out of one of her pockets. She inserted the key into the rather small lock and turned it, granting access to the tool shed. In previous years, the Saiguden had a giant complicated lock on it. However, Rika Furude, eight years old at the time, did not like the big lock and found it too hard for her to open. The village leader, Kimiyoshi, just couldn't say no to the little girl and complied. The large lock was then replaced by a very simple lock, which anyone could probably crack if they had the right skills. She slowly opened up the door and dragged the box that had been set on the floor into the shrine. The miko made a gesture for Hanyuu to enter the shrine as well, which she did.

The Saiguden was an… interesting place. On the outside, it looked like just any other tool shed. But inside was a whole different story. The walls were lined with various tools for torture. One side was a wall lined with different kinds of dissecting tools, each one different from the other. On the other side were more complicated torture devices that Rika and even Hanyuu didn't understand how to use. However, one that was quite recognizable was what looked sort of like a table. It had many straps on it. Rika could probably count about thirty or forty straps. This was a device used to completely restrain a victim. Rika, in a previous Hinamizawa, had been unfortunate to encounter this horrific device. From experience, she knew that that device prevented any kind of movement. You couldn't even move your fingers if you tried. This table went along with the dissection tools that lined the opposite wall. Or, as Takano Miyo called them, cooking tools. Cages of many sizes hung from the ceiling of the shrine, giving it an even darker feel.

"Rika? Why are we here?" asked Hanyuu in a shaky voice.

Rika gave her friend a small smile. "I figured I'd do a little late spring cleaning. It's been a while since this old place has been cleaned out," she answered. The blue-haired girl bent down to open the box full of cleaning supplies and pulled out a dustpan and broom. She began to sweep the floor with the broom and dumped shards of old wood in a small trash bag she had brought. Hanyuu watched all this warily.

"It's funny, isn't it?" Rika suddenly said, startling the goddess. "All the young kids my age are probably being told to go clean out their room, and yet I'm here cleaning out a torture shrine," she chuckled darkly as she began to wipe dust off the walls.

Hanyuu frowned. "Rika, that is _not _funny!" she cried out.

"Well, I thought it was funny," she muttered.

Hanyuu returned to watching Rika's every move. She was quite worried for her friend. Those knives looked like they could fall off the wall pretty easily. What if one hit her on the head and killed her? "Rika, I don't understand why you're doing this!" she yelled.

Rika stopped wiping the walls. "I just felt like it. As the miko of the Furude Family, it's my job to take care of this place. I have to take responsibility every once in a while," she answered and then went right back to cleaning.

And so Rika continued dusting the walls and floors and then began to wash them with a washcloth and some water she had gotten from the nearby stream combined with clementine soap she brought. After she had finished cleaning up, she let out a large sigh and went to sit down on a seat next to the rather inaccurate statue depicting Oyashiro-sama. Much to her surprise, when she sat down, the top of the seat collapsed.

"Rika! That's not a chair, that's a box!" Hanyuu cried out a little too late. Rika stood up and rubbed her head before looking at the _very_ old box she had just accidently sat on.

She blinked at it. "Huh? I've never seen this here before," she thought out loud. Out of pure curiosity, she opened up the box to reveal several very beat-up books. "Books?"

Hanyuu waddled over to the package and stared into it. "Au au! It's those books! And I thought they had gotten thrown out or something!" she spoke cheerfully.

Rika raised an eyebrow at her friend's sudden excitement. "Hanyuu? Do you know what these are?" she asked her friend suspiciously.

Hanyuu nodded instantly. "Yup! These are old books written by the ancestors of Hinamizawa. Your great great great great great great grandparents wrote some of these books! I think your great great great great great great great great great grandparents might have written some of them too… or was it your great great great great great great great great great great great great grandparents?" she explained.

Rika sighed. "It doesn't matter. What are they about?" she asked.

Hanyuu grinned. "They're about the legends of Hinamizawa! Some books also contain the traditions and rules of Onifaguchi," she spoke knowingly.

"Oh, really?" Rika spoke as she picked up one of the books and brushed off the dust. "These aren't Takano's notebooks, are they?" she asked.

Hanyuu looked a little upset by Rika's question. "No way are these written by Takano! I already told you, these were written by your great great great great great great great great great great grandparents!"

Rika held her head in her hands. "Hanyuu, please, you don't have to give me an exact number of greats… it's giving me a headache," she mumbled.

"Sorry!" she apologized, clapping her hands together.

The miko went back to the book she was holding. "Onifaguchi Legends and Rules #7: The Furude Family," she read.

The goddess looked over her shoulder at the book she was holding. "That's a book about your ancestors! I bet there's even a family tree!" she yelled out in excitement.

Rika opened up the front page and began to read. The written was somewhat faded, but not to the point where Rika couldn't read it.

She looked at the first page. _THE FURUDE FAMILY: One of the three great families of Onifaguchi. _

She then carefully turned to the next page, careful not to tear or mess up the old books any further.

Hanyuu pointed to the words. "Look, I told you there was a family tree!" she boasted. She was indeed right. On the second page there was a listening of all the previous Furude heads and members. She looked all the way down at the bottom and found that the last name written was her mother's.

"Hanyuu, please give me a pencil. I brought one with me in the box… I was going to write down a status report of the Saiguden's current condition," she ordered. Hanyuu quickly obeyed and handled her a pencil. As soon as she did, Rika scribbled her own name in the book below the name of her mother and father. "Might as well keep this up to date if we're here," she said before turning to the next page. This page contained various legends and rules about the Furude family.

"Au au! Furude Koichi! I remember him!" Hanyuu spoke happily as she pointed to a page with the same name written in big letters. It seemed that she was very excited about finding these books. _Well, I guess history is always exciting,_ Rika thought.

"Furude Koichi? Who is that?" Rika asked.

"Furude Koichi is your ancestor from… nine generations ago, I believe. He was a great leader of Onifaguchi when the Kimiyoshi head, Kimiyoshi Isao refused to stand for his own people," Hanyuu explained. Suddenly, her expression turned grim.

Rika blinked at her. "Hanyuu?"

Hanyuu let out a small sigh and shook her head. "Rika, I told you how in your family, how if there's eight first-born girls in a row, the eighth will be the reincarnation of Oyashiro-sama?" she asked. Rika nodded a yes. "Well, before him, there were seven girls born in a row. He broke it when I was _this_ close to getting someone to finally talk to," she spoke sadly. "It's not his fault that he was born male, it's just that I wanted someone to talk to."

Rika knew about Hanyuu's sadness when she was unable to talk to anyone. Hanyuu sat there for generation after generation watching her people all by herself. She couldn't talk to a single soul in the village and no one could see her. That all changed when Furude Rika was born ten years ago. Or, perhaps better said, around a thousand years ago.

Rika flipped the page again. "Oh, Furude Riku! He was the father of my child. He's your great great… oh whatever… grandfather," the horned girl spoke.

Rika looked at the faded drawing of her great great… something grandfather. He was the oldest recorded head of the Furude family. There were certainly more ancestors, Rika figured, but they had probably been long forgotten about. "Were there people before him?" she asked Hanyuu, staring at the picture.

Hanyuu gave her a nod. "Yeah, there were. I don't really remember who they were though. The only people I can remember are the leaders of the three great families," she responded.

Rika nodded silently and went page to flipping through the pages. Each ancestor was listed and had a page on them with basic information. Some of their bios were shorter than others. After all, this was a book of legends. Not everyone in the Furude family was heroic.

She closed the book and a cloud of dusty flew up into the air when she did so. She put it back in the box and took out another book. _Onifaguchi Legends and Rules #3: The Watanagashi Festival._

Rika flipped open the cover and began to read the contents. It was particularly gruesome. She was already informed of how the people of Onifaguchi previously carried out the Watanagashi festival, but reading it in detail was a bit much for the young girl to take. She had a flashback to the time in the second to last Hinamizawa where she had her stomach ripped out. She could not remember having her stomach ripped open in other Hinamizawas. Hanyuu's power of reviving Rika's memories was very limited.

Rika closed the book and put it down. She pulled out another one. _Onifaguchi Legends and Rules #17: Sonozaki Ayame. _"Hanyuu, who is Sonozaki Ayame?" she asked when she read the name off the cover.

Hanyuu took the book from Rika's hand. "She was the head of the Sonozaki family many years ago. In fact, She may have been the head about two or three generations after my death. According to legend, she made a deal with a demon and gave the Sonozaki family great power," she recalled slowly. "I don't remember the details fully…"

Rika shrugged and put the book down. She fished through the brown box once again and pulled out yet another book. Upon opening it, her face became puzzled. "Hanyuu, there's nothing in this book," she said.

"So there isn't. That's odd," Hanyuu replied as Rika set the book down. She closed the old box and pushed it back to where she found it and then covered it with a white sheet. Rika wandered to a small bench located in the shrine and sat down.

"How much time do you have left?" she asked.

Hanyuu was taken aback by the sudden question. She suddenly became melancholic and looked at her feet. "Rika, I've been trying to calculate it for a while. I've finally come to a conclusion," she answered. She let out a large sigh before speaking, "not tomorrow, but the day after tomorrow will be my last."

Rika's head snapped in the direction of the sorrowful goddess. "What did you say? We only have two more days? How are we going to manage this?" she yelled, starling Hanyuu who covered her ears. "Don't hide from it, Hanyuu!"

Hanyuu slowly uncovered her ears and looked at the outraged girl. "That's right. I'll just tell them I need to go back to my town for personal reasons," she muttered.

"Do you _really_ think that would work?" Rika snapped.

Hanyuu hesitated. "Au au! Do you have any other ideas?"

Rika shut her mouth when she heard Hanyuu. She didn't have any better ideas. Perhaps she'd just have to go with that. Rika slumped over with her stomach pressing against the creaky wood of the bench. "Hey Hanyuu. Let's go through the previous Hinamizawas together, shall we? I want you to tell me the chances of each one happening," she requested.

Hanyuu suddenly grew very serious. She stiffened slightly before sitting on the floor of the tool shed. "Yes. Let's do so, just in case."

Rika took a deep breath. "Then, let's begin. Hanyuu, are you ready?" she asked.

She nodded. "Yes, Rika, I'm ready. Please begin."

And with that, Rika closed her eyes. She began to imagine the previous Hinamizawas where she had failed to save herself and her friends from Takano and Hinamizawa Syndrome. She had to remember every single detail of every single world in order for Hanyuu to give an exact number. It was quite a challenge, but for someone who repeated those lives many times, it was quite simple. "Keiichi's world. Maebara Keiichi leaves Hinamizawa for a funeral and comes back two days later. He is later informed of Oyashiro-sama's curse and accuses his friends because they denied the existence of any murders. He catches Hinamizawa Syndrome and begins to display strange behavior. He then comes to the conclusion that Rena and Mion are trying to kill him. In the end, he beats Sonozaki Mion and Ryuuguu Rena to death at his house before clawing his throat out in a phone booth," Rika recalled.

Hanyuu slowly took in each and every word that she said, rebuilding the alternate universe in her mind. "Maebara Keiichi is aware of Oyashiro-sama's curse and no longer fears it. This is the main trigger for that world. The chance of this world happening again is zero percent," she analyzed.

Rika nodded before moving on to the next world. "Shion's world. Sonozaki Shion is reminded of the disappearance of her love, Houjou Satoshi, after Maebara Keiichi fails to give a doll to Sonozaki Mion and hurts her. She blames the Sonozaki family for murdering him and commits murder after murder. The victims of this world are Houjou Satoko and Sonozaki Mion. However, I commit suicide and Maebara Keiichi dies of a heart attack. In the end, Sonozaki Shion realizes her mistakes and kills herself out of guilt," she said.

The goddess once again closed her eyes. "Sonozaki Shion is aware of Houjou Satoshi's whereabouts and knows the Sonozaki family is innocent. She has vowed to forever protect Houjou Satoko and will never harm Sonozaki Mion in this word. The chance of this world happening again is zero percent."

The miko nodded as she took in this information. "Rena's world. Ryuuguu Rena becomes aware that her father is being manipulated by his so-called girlfriend and seeks out help. Unable to get any, she ends up killing his girlfriend and his girlfriend's other boyfriend. Her friends bury the bodies together, but Sonozaki Mion and Sonozaki Shion end up moving the bodies so the police won't find them. Ryuuguu Rena takes this as a threat and ends up blowing up the school containing all of the club members including herself. In one Hinamizawa, this last act is avoided and instead the Hinamizawa Gas Disaster takes place."

"Ryuuguu Rena has already realized that her father is being used for money and has ordered her father to cut off all ties with her. He has obeyed her and all ties with her have been cut. The chances of this world happening again is zero percent," Hanyuu spoke.

Rika gulped as she remembered the next world. It was by far her least favorite of all of them. "Satoko's world. Maebara Keiichi begins to develop a big brother feeling for Houjou Satoko. Houjou Teppei returns Hinamizawa after his girlfriend is violently killed by the Sonozaki family. He begins to abuse Houjou Satoko who forgets to take her shots to keep down her Hinamizawa Syndrome. Maebara Keiichi beats her uncle to death on the night of the Watanagashi Festival, but Houjou Satoko still believes her uncle is alive due to Hinamizawa Syndrome. Maebara Keiichi ends up believing everyone he wishes for to die will die. He tells this to Houjou Satoko after saving her from being boiled alive. She does not seem to mind, but they soon run into my corpse. Houjou Satoko believes that Maebara Keiichi killed me, so she pushes him off a bridge. Or, Hanyuu, that is what you have told me as I was already dead before I could witness this event," she began to explain rather shakily.

Hanyuu shook her head. "I do not know Houjou Teppei's whereabouts. It is possible that he may come back. Maebara Keiichi probably knows better than to kill him after the second to last world. The chance of this world happening again is five percent."

Rika growled. "What if we asked someone for where he currently is? That could affect the chances of this world happening greatly."

Hanyuu nodded. "We could try to figure that out. How about if we stop at the Okinomiya police department after school tomorrow?"

"Sounds fine to me," Rika responded as she sat up and hopped off the bench. She put all her cleaning supplies away in the box she had brought and gestured for Hanyuu to help her pick it up again. Hanyuu once again was reminded of the Angel Mort tickets and dashed over to help her friend.

"Rika?" Hanyuu said.

As the miko lifted up the box, she responded, "Yes, Hanyuu?"

"…We have to go to Angel Mort tomorrow, too. Before I disappear forever," Hanyuu added.

Rika bobbed her head. "Yeah, we'll go to Angel Mort. I promise you that Hanyuu."

And with that, the two of them picked up the box of cleaning supplies and walked out of the tool shed. Rika put the box down so that she could lock the door tightly before wandering back home.

~~~X~~~

The next day, Maebara Keiichi found himself sitting bored at his desk. He tapped his fingers on the hard surface impatiently. Mion and Shion had both not shown up at the usual meeting spot again. _Damn, where the hell are those two? Still sick?_

Rika and Hanyuu were busy helping Satoko with an art project Chie had assigned them to do. They were busy working on a model of the Furude Shrine. Of course, the ability to create such a thing with popsicle sticks, paint, and glue was rather limited.

Etsuko was watching the three of them as they began to make the roof of the shrine while her brother was futilely attempting to do some math homework. "Um, Nee-chan? Can you p-please help me…" he began to ask.

"No. Can't you see I'm busy?" his sister growled at him. Hisao looked startled and went back to his sheet without another word as she returned to watching the three girls work on their rather sloppy art project.

Rena slowly leaned over to look at Hisao's work. "Rena will help Hisao-kun!" she declared. Hisao stared at her with wide eyes. "I promise I won't eat you or anything!"

After a few moments of debate, Hisao let Rena help him. As soon as she began to explain how to do the problem, the door was suddenly kicked open rather loudly. "WE ARE SORRY WE'RE LATE!" screamed the girl who had just entered. Keiichi rolled his eyes as he identified the girl as Mion with her twin sister, Shion, standing behind her. Hisao looked like he just had a heart attack and stared horrified at the door before falling out of his chair. Etsuko turned away from the mini-shrine to stare at the two of them.

"Mion-san, Shion-san! Take your seats and don't be so loud! You have a lot of explaining to do!" snapped Chie as they quickly obeyed. Once they took their seats, Chie walked up to them with her hands on her hips before she slapped a yardstick on their desk. "Alright you two! Where have you been?" she demanded.

"We were sick," they both said in unison.

Chie crossed her arms. "Shion-san, you were out for at least four days. Mion-san was out for one, which is understandable, but were you _really_ sick?"

Shion smiled. "Yes, I was really sick Chie-sensei."

Chie sighed, shook her head, and walked away. Shion pulled out several sheets of math homework and began to work on them

"Hey Mion, Shion!" Keiich called to the two of them, abandoning his work.

Mion shot him a grin. "Oh hey, Kei-chan! How many years has it been since this old man has last seen you?" she asked.

"It's been a day," sighed Keiichi. _This girl… she's so weird at times._

Mion laughed loudly. "Oh come on Kei-chan! This old man was just playing with ya. How about if you help me and Shion with our math homework?" she asked in a tempting manner. Keiichi rolled his eyes at Mion. He could swear that Mion was never going to get in a good college and was going to sit in Hinamizawa doing nothing all her life besides being the head of her family. He didn't really understand her. She would often tell him that she thought that her childhood should be spent having fun while she still could.

"Mion, please start trying to understand this homework by yourself..." he requested as he pulled his chair up to her and Shion's desk to help the two of them. Before he could do so, Etsuko wandered up to the three of them.

She looked from Mion to Shion and gave them both a polite smile. "Hello! My name is Ohba Etsuko! What are your name?" she asked.

"I'm Sonozaki Mion!" Mion answered proudly as she placed one hand on her chest.

"And I'm Sonozaki Shion," Shion answered softly.

Etsuko gasped at the two of them. "Whoa! You guys look exactly alike _and_ your names are similar! I've never actually seen a pair of identical twins before," she marveled.

Shion and Mion both giggled. "We get that a lot," Shion told her with a smile. Of course, they both couldn't shake off what they had seen yesterday. Why did this girl hug Keiichi? Was it just out of thanks, or was it something else? Of course, the twins both decided to be nice to her and try to make friends. There was no point in making enemies.

"Well, it's nice meeting the both of you!" Etsuko said and bowed. She wandered back to her seat afterwards. Keiichi then returned to giving the twins yet _another_ math lesion. But Mion couldn't focus on what he was saying. She slowly moved her head away from the math sheet and looked out the window before something else caught her eye. Etsuko was staring at her with narrow purple eyes. _Is she… looking at me?_

"Mion! Pay attention! This is really important and I really don't want to have to explain to you how to do this for the fifteenth time!" Keiichi snapped at her.

"Sorry!" Mion apologized quickly. This time, she decided, she would actually try to understand what Keiichi was saying. It was becoming apparent to her that Keiichi was having a very hard time trying to teach her the same thing over and over again. And suddenly, she felt extremely bad about it. How much effort was he putting into teaching _her_ instead of himself? The very thought made Mion shudder with guilt. _Let's try a little harder… _Mion thought to herself.

~~~X~~~

Class soon ended. Keiichi sighed and massaged his temples. Mion and Shion were very hard to teach. The two of them just didn't seem to understand. Either that, or they weren't even making an effort to understand. Keiichi, who had been working hard all his life, didn't see why Mion didn't want to work hard. An idea suddenly came to his head.

"Hey Mion, Shion! How about if we make this a competition between the two of you? Let's see who can get the most right answers on their math homework," he suggested. Mion would always work hard if something were declared a competition. After all, the green-haired female was always set on winning absolutely everything.

Mion yawned. "That's kind of a boring competition, Kei-chan. Let's focus on club activities for now," she said.

Etsuko and Hisao had begun to pack up their things. "Hey, you two!" Mion called to them, "why don't you stay here for a little bit?"

Etsuko blinked. "Eh? What for?" she asked. "We have important things to do!"

Mion crossed her arms. "I was going to ask if you two wanted to join our club, but if you have to do something else…" she said.

Hisao looked down, embarrassed. He looked like he was working up the courage to speak. "Um… what do you do in the club?" he finally asked after a few moments of hesitation.

Mion gave him a huge grin. "I'm glad you asked!" she yelled, causing Hisao to yelp. "Our club focuses on trying to set people up for the increasingly hard actions of society through our teachings. We are set on the belief that no matter what happens we are-" she explained passionately. Hisao looked at her, extremely confused as he tried to process what she just said.

Rika suddenly cut her off. "Basically, we just play games," she explained with a cute smile.

"O-Oh," Hisao responded.

Etsuko crossed her arms. "Well if you'll excuse us, we have more important things to do!" she yelled as she began to drag her protesting brother off.

"B-But nee-chan! I w-wanna," he tried to say, dejected. Unfortunately, he was unable to finish his sentence as his sister dragged him out of the door. All of the club members blinked at Etsuko's strange actions.

Mion shrugged. "Well, let's get going with club activities!" she announced. She opened up a small booklet containing records of the various club activities. Each page was for a single day, saying who won, who lost, the punishment game, and what game was played. "Keiichi, it's your turn to chose a game!"

Keiichi closed his eyes as a smirk slowly appeared on his face. "Heh! A real club member will always work his or her hardest to win! That's the number one goal of the club. And in order to make up for my failure the other day…" Keiichi paused before finishing dramatically, "I want to play Sympathy!"

Mion let out a loud laugh. At first, Keiichi thought she was making fun of him. "I like it, Kei-chan! I like your spirit! You're a true club member!" she yelled when she had finished laughing.

Keiichi grinned. "This time I'm not going to lose. You hear that, Sonozaki?"

Mion crossed her arms. "Oh, I hear that alright! And this old man says she's not going to lose to you, either!"

"Bring it on!" yelled Keiichi. This time, he just _had _to win.

Mion handed everyone a whiteboard and a dry-erase marker. She then opened up a dictionary to a random page. "Okay, so the word is rainbow!" she declared. Keiichi put his marker to his chin. _Okay, you have to think, Maebara Keiichi! What color would they think of? Okay… I think I got it, _he thought as he scribbled down his answer sloppily on the whiteboard. "Turn your answers over!" Mion called out after a minute had passed. All of showed their answers around the table in the order they were sitting. First, Satoko revealed her whiteboard with the color yellow written on it. Then Hanyuu with purple, Rika with blue, Rena with orange, Mion with green, Shion with green, and Keiichi with red.

"Point goes to me and Shion!" declared Mion. "Alright, next word is vegetable!"

Keiichi glanced at the others as they wrote down their answers. Wasn't the rule of the club to do anything they could to win? So it wouldn't matter if he looked at someone else's answer, right? Keiichi tried to get a glance at Shion's (who was sitting next to him) answer and ended up failing miserably. _Whatever… just write something down!_

"Okay, answers!" called Mion. Satoko wrote broccoli, Hanyuu wrote tomato, Rika wrote cauliflower, Rena wrote cucumber, Mion wrote carrot, Shion wrote carrot, and Keiichi had written asparagus.

"Point goes to me and Shion!" called Mion. She flipped the dictionary a few pages. "And the next word is ice cream!"

Keiichi decided to write down the most basic flavor, vanilla. Of course everyone else would chose that, right? Vanilla was his favorite kind of ice cream anyways. It was plain and simple, just how he liked it.

"Answers!" Mion yelled. Satoko revealed her answer, cookie dough. Hanyuu had written down cookies and cream, Rika wrote mint chip, Rena wrote chocolate, Shion wrote strawberry, Mion wrote strawberry, and Keiichi wrote vanilla. "Two points to me and Shion!"

Okay, something wasn't right here. Why were Mion and Shion the only people getting points? "The word is month!"

_Well, the first thing that comes to mind is April because that's when I was born. Well, someone else is bound to write that, so why not?_ He decided as he jotted down the word April.

Mion set her pen down. "Time is up! Now show me your words!" she yelled out to the club members. Satoko wrote June, Hanyuu wrote November, Rika wrote October, Rena wrote July, Mion wrote February, Shion wrote February, and Keiichi had wrote April.

"Okay, point goes to me and Shion!" Mion said once again. Then it hit Keiichi. He should have picked someone else's birth month. He had known Rena was born in July, so why hadn't he written that down? Of course Mion and Shion wrote the same answer as they were both born on the same day! _But still, how the hell did they get the same answer before?_

"The word is cold!" Mion cried out. This time, Keiichi kept an eye on Mion instead of writing down an answer. He watched as Shion jotted down a word and then as she ever so slightly moved her whiteboard over so that Mion could see it…

"Oh hell no you two!" Keiichi cried out as he pointed a finger at Shion and Mion accusingly. "You're cheating!"

Mion gave him an innocent look. "What are you talking about? We're not cheating!"

Satoko raised an eyebrow. "Keiichi-san, are you trying to cheat by watching Mion-san and Shion-san?" she asked.

Keiichi shook his head in a panic. "No no! I'm not! I'm just-" he tried to explain.

"Keiichi, don't cheat! That's bad! Nipah~" Rika scolded him. Keiichi growled in frustration as he scribbled down an answer. After Mion gave the signal, everyone showed his or her answer. Satoko had winter, Hanyuu had popsicle, Rika had freezer, Rena had snow, Mion had ice cream, Shion had ice cream, and Keiichi had ice.

Keiichi hit his head on the desk at the club member's failure to notice Mion and Shion's blatant cheating. It's just not possible to just win four times in a row like that!

"The word is cute!" declared Mion. When Rena heard this, her mind went haywire.

"Hau! What should Rena write? What should Rena write?" Rena asked herself out loud as various cute things began to appear in her mind. She nosebleed at the overload of cute and fell over and out of her chair instantly.

Keiichi sighed. It would be impossible to guess what Rena was going to write. _Uh, I'll write down Rika here…_

"Oh hell no Shion! I'm NOT writing that!" yelled Mion when her twin sister had finished writing down her word. Shion gave her a smirk.

"Oh but Onee, you know he's just the cutest thing _you_ have ever seen!" she taunted.

Mion hit her sister over the head with her fist. "Now go change your answer right away, stupid Shion!"

Shion sighed. "Oh fine Onee…" she muttered as she erased her answer and wrote down a new one.

After that was over, they all showed their words. Satoko had picked bear, Hanyuu had picked creampuffs, Rika had picked cat, Rena's answer was unreadable, Mion had picked kitten, Shion had picked kitten, and Keiichi had picked Rika.

"Okay, now let's see you guys try to deny the fact that they're cheating NOW!" Keiichi yelled. No one seemed to pay attention to him.

"Okay, next round!" Mion yelled. "The word is…"

~~~X~~~

In the end, the only people who got points were Mion and Shion and they decided the punishment game was to be carried out tomorrow.

"Alright, punishment game tomorrow! Hanyuu, Rika, Satoko, Keiichi, Rena! Don't forget!" Mion yelled as she was about to walk out the door.

"Wait!" Hanyuu called to her before she could do so. Mion turned around to look at the horned girl curiously.

"What is it, Hanyuu?" she asked.

Hanyuu pointed her head down for a few moments. Then, she glanced back up and looked around at all of the club members, giving a few seconds to look into each and every one of the member's eyes. "I'm sorry, everyone, but I'm afraid that I'm leaving Hinamizawa today and won't be coming back," she said. Everyone's faces turned from being happy to shocked and confused. However, instead of looking shocked, Rika stood there with a grim expression.

"Why is Hanyuu leaving, why?" Rena asked. She looked hurt by Hanyuu's sudden revelation. Hanyuu was always on the top of Rena's "take it home" menu. This meant that Hanyuu would depart without Rena ever getting to take her home.

Hanyuu looked upset as well. "I have to go back to my town. Something has come up and I have to go. I really can't explain," she said.

It took a few moments for the club members to process this. They had never thought they would lose another member after Satoshi. When Hanyuu had transferred in, they had all believed she would stay in the club forever and ever until they grew up. So why, why did she have to go? It broke their hearts.

Mion walked up slowly to Hanyuu and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hanyuu, are you really leaving?" she asked her seriously. The horned girl only responded to the club leader by nodded her head slowly.

The green-haired female took a deep breath. "Hanyuu, you've been a great addition to our club. In fact, I don't think I can imagine doing club activities without you, Hanyuu. But if you got to go, you got to go," she said. "Hanyuu, you will forever be a member of the club in our minds. You have my word on that!" she yelled out. "So guys, don't you ever forget her!"

Rena looked down at her feet. "Hau, I never got to take Hanyuu home with me…" she said disappointedly.

Tears were beginning to well up in Hanyuu's eyes. "As my final punishment game, I will dress up in a maid outfit and let Rena take me home for an hour," she spoke to the whole club.

Rena's eyes lit up. "Would you really let Rena take you home, would you?" she asked with a tilt of the head.

Hanyuu bobbed her head slightly. "Yes. I want to make you happy," she responded.

"Hau! Rena gets to take Hanyuu home!" cried Rena out of sheer happiness.

Rika smiled slightly at Rena's joy. After thousands of attempts, Rena was _finally_ going to get to take Hanyuu home. Rena had never actually succeeded in taking a person home before. At that moment, Rika began to wonder what Rena would actually do when she took Hanyuu home. "Me and Hanyuu were going to go to Angel Mort for a final good-bye. Would you guys like to join us?" she asked.

Shion glanced at Rika upon hearing the name of the restaurant she worked at. "I'd be happy to let you all in," she said, "but Onee has to help me."

Mion opened her mouth to protest, but closed it once she realized how serious the matter was. "All right, Shion, just this once," she muttered.

"Thank you, everyone," Hanyuu spoke barely above a whisper. Even though she knew she'd still be able to see everyone have fun and play club activities, she would never be able to interact with them again. She would have to go back to watching them. Rika gave Hanyuu a solemn look. Even the small miko knew how painful it was for the goddess to go back to being just a spirit.

Mion crossed her arms. "Alright, all club members meet at Angel Mort at five pm! I will not allow you to miss this! If you do, you get the punishment game of your life! You got that?" she yelled at them all sternly.

"Yes, club leader!" they all cried in unison.

~~~X~~~

They yellow sun was still shining bright upon the small village of Hinamizawa. Mion and Keiichi were walking down the path towards their houses. Shion had gone off to Angel Mort early to prepare. Mion was dreading the idea of working at Angel Mort. Sure, she'd done it many times in the past when the two of them swapped places. However, Mion did _not _enjoy wearing such a revealing uniform and wondered how the heck Shion could stand wearing it everyday.

"I can't believe Hanyuu is leaving," Keiichi muttered as he kicked some pebbles down the path.

Mion nodded. "Yeah. I wanted the club to be this large forever and ever. I never considered the possibility of someone transferring out," she spoke sadly.

Keiichi kicked a pebble into a nearby stream and watched as it disappeared under the surface with a plunk. "It's so sudden. I wonder why she didn't tell us before?" he wondered.

Mion looked at the ripples on the water's surface as the pebble fell in. "I guess she didn't want to tell us. It must be hard for her as well," she said. Keiichi dipped his head. He was feeling down about the whole situation. He didn't want to have to lose a friend!

He slowly walked down to the riverbank. "I need some time to sit," he explained before sitting down on the grass. Slowly, he dipped his finger into the river in front of him and ran it through the cool water.

Mion sat next to him. She hugged her knees to her chest and watched the brown-haired boy's actions, not knowing what else to do. "I wonder why Etsuko and Hisao-chan didn't want to join the club," she said.

"Beats me. I kind of wish they did, though. It's nice having more kids our age," he said as he ran all of his fingers through the clear stream. He listening to the sound the water made as it was slowly sloshed about.

"Mhm…" was all she let out as she hugged herself.

"…Hey, Mion?" Keiichi said suddenly.

"What is it, Kei-chan?"

Keiichi pulled his hand out of the river and wiped the water off on his black shirt. "Did any other kids our age used to live in Hinamizawa besides Satoshi?" he asked.

Mion paused. "Oh, yeah. There were. Around the time of the dam war," she answered. "I don't remember faces and names."

"When did they transfer out?" he questioned. Mion froze up. _That's a good question, when did they transfer out?_

"…I don't remember them transferring out… it's odd…" she said in a strange voice. _Why can't I remember?_

Keiichi looked at her and blinked. "Oh, I see. It doesn't really matter," he said before leaning back on the soft green grass.

This question bothered Mion. She knew there was definitely kids her age back then, but when did they leave and who were they? She couldn't remember. If she looked back far enough in her memories, she could find some of her playing with another kid. _Who the heck is that? And when did they leave? _

As she continued her futile attempts to remember, the green-haired female clutched her head and looked down at the grass beneath her.

"Mion, what's wrong?" Keiichi asked.

"…My head hurts."

~~~X~~~

**Crimso's Corner.**

**Okay, so it's Tuesday night and I'm really not sure how I'm feeling about this chapter. It seems kind of rushed in a way. I wanted to be able to finish this before homework overload. I think I'll look over it a little later.**

**It's sad for me, as the author, to let Hanyuu go. Hanyuu is one of my favorite characters. Bah, I feel really bad for some reason :'(.**

**My brain is not working right now. Forgive me if this chapter isn't as good as the others. Just like poor Mion, my head hurts. There's too much stress. I think I should go take a shower and go to bed early today.**

**Once again, I apologize if this chapter isn't as good. I blame school. **

**Can't wait for spring break.**

**Wish me luck.**

**~Crimso**


	7. Chapter 6: Angel Mort

**Hey. I just finished my English Essay. I think I did well… we'll see. My English Teacher is really tough but he's cool. Oh well. Enjoy chapter six.**

** Oh yeah, remember when I said the plot would really start after the last chapter? Yeah… next chapter. Here's my explanation: I was going to add this chapter to chapter four… but I forgot to mention Hanyuu disappearing forever in that chapter so I pretty much screwed myself over. ALL MY FAULT. Yeah… Sorry readers. Feel free to shoot me with something. **

Rika and Hanyuu marched down the busy and dirty streets of Okinomiya to the police station. They had one goal in mind: find out Houjou Teppei's whereabouts. The two of them would then head off to Angel Mort for a final good-bye party organized by the club. Despite being sad about disappearing forever, Hanyuu was looking forward to getting to eat all she could at Angel Mort. Angel Mort was a _very_ popular restaurant located somewhat close the police station. All the food was rather terrible save for the desserts. But the real reason most people went there was for the waitresses wearing skimpy outfits. Of course, that wasn't why Hanyuu wanted to go. She wanted to go there for the sole purpose of eating the sweet creampuffs they served there.

"Au au! I hope Shion succeeded in reserving us a seat!" cried Hanyuu in delight. Rika smiled at the goddess.

"She probably has. After all, I bet you she wants you to feel happy before you disappear forever," she said as a car rushed by, tossing their hair in the air.

Hanyuu looked down. "I don't want to leave," she admitted. "I have never truly been happy before I joined the club. Even when I was still an adult living in Onifaguchi thousands a years ago, I was never truly happy. I couldn't forgive the fact that I was born with horns. Back then, other people didn't forgive it either. But now, they've only been asked about once and then forgotten. It makes me happy… that they don't mind."

Rika could only imagine how Hanyuu felt about her horns. They were very noticeable. In fact, Rika was a little surprised when the club members only bothered asking once and then forgot after they realized it was a subject Hanyuu would rather not talk about. After all, it's not every day you see a girl walking around with two horns on her head.

"I wish you didn't have to leave. I don't feel secure anymore, Hanyuu," Rika said. "You were one of the reasons why I had courage to defeat fate in this world. If it weren't for your psychical form, I don't think I could have made it after Takano tried to shoot Mion."

Hanyuu watched as her feet strode across the gray pavement. "I know, Rika. I wish I didn't have to leave either. Unfortunately, we can't do anything about the villager's growing disbelief in Oyashiro-sama. It's just been forgotten since the last Watanagashi," she said with a sigh.

Rika nodded in response and said nothing more as they continued to walk across the street. The police station was just the next block over. The two of them looked for cars before making their way to the police station in about five minutes. When the two of them entered, a few police officers stared at them. They were probably wondering why two small girls would suddenly show up without warning. The blue-haired girl grabbed the other's hand and led her to the front desk. A man sitting there was reading a rather long book with his legs propped up on top of the desk. When he noticed the two of them, he folded the corner of the page and set his book down. He then took his legs off the counter and adjusted his glasses.

"Hello, sir!" Rika greeted with a respectful bow.

"Hello, young miss. May I ask why you are here and for both of your names?" he said with a smile.

Rika pointed to herself. "My name is Furude Rika," she explained and then pointed to Hanyuu. "She is my distant cousin, Furude Hanyuu."

The man's eyes widened upon hearing their names. "Ah, Furude Rika and Furude Hanyuu of the Furude Shrine! It's quite odd to see you here. Is there something wrong in Hinamizawa?"

Hanyuu smiled at him. "No, nothing is wrong right now. We just have a question," she answered.

"Oh, and what would that be? I'd be glad to answer anything."

Rika glanced at Hanyuu for a few seconds before returning to look at the policeman. "We were wondering if it was possible for the police to trace the whereabouts of my best friend's uncle," she said.

The policeman leaned back in his chair and wore a troubled look. "Hm, that might be a bit tough. We could certainly try though. What would his name be?" he asked.

"His name is Houjou Teppei," Hanyuu responded. The man nodded.

"Alright, we'll look into it. Come back in a few days," he told them.

The two young girls wandered out of the station with their mission complete for now. Of course, there really wasn't much they could do but wait. The two of them then made their way back across the vigorous and busy streets of Okinomiya until they reached a restaurant. A large sign on the front read _ANGEL MORT_ with a picture of a girl in one of the uniforms. There were many cars parked outside, which made Hanyuu wonder if they were going to get a table there at all. She assumed that most of the cars belonged to people who were looking forward to seeing the young waitresses. After all, that's why Angel Mort was so popular in the first place. Rika couldn't help but wonder why anyone would want to work there in the first place. _I guess the pay is high._

The two of them climbed up the rather large steps to the restaurant. When they got to the top, Hanyuu began to pull at the door in attempt to open it without much success.

"It says push, Hanyuu," Rika muttered. Hanyuu then noticed the rather large sign on the door with the words _PUSH_ written on it. She blushed in embarrassment and pushed the door open. The bells on the door jingled as the two of them stepped into the colorful restaurant.

"Welcome to Angel Mort!" a waitress with brown-hair greeted them, "do you have a reservation?"

Hanyuu hesitated and looked at Rika as if asking her to answer for her. "Um… sort of. Is Sonozaki here?" the blue-haired girl asked.

The waitress nodded. "Yeah, she's getting changed," she answered before pausing, "but she's taking an awfully long time…"

Rika nodded. "We'll just be waiting for her, then. Nipah!" she responded. She took Hanyuu's hand and pulled her to a wall painted a bright yellow. The blue-haired girl's eyes were focused on the clock.

A little while later, the front door opened to reveal Keiichi wearing his usual outfit. He smiled at the two girls. "Hey, Hanyuu, Rika! Where's Mion, Shion, Rena, and Satoko?" he asked.

Rika shook her head. "I don't know. We're waiting for Shion right now. The waitress we just talked to says she's getting changed but is taking a while," she explained.

"Ah, I see," Keiichi said before walking over to the two of them and standing next to them.

A few minutes passed by and there was still no sign of Shion. "I wonder what's taking Shii so long," Rika wondered out loud. Hanyuu was watching the entrance to the changing room in search of the green-haired girl. Her eyes soon drifted to a bunch of teenagers around the age of nineteen or so also eyeing the entrance to the changing room. Hanyuu automatically figured that they were perverts who were trying to get a look into the changing room.

The brown-haired waitress from before walked up to the four teenagers. "Hello, and welcome to Angel Mort! May I take your order?" she asked. The teenager's eyes grew wide and they began to drool. Rika rolled her eyes at the sight of them.

"Y-Yes! U-Um, can we have-" the teenager was trying to explain while observing the waitress's features. "P-Please give us a little more time!" he spoke again.

The waitress gave him a big smile. "Alright, please take your time!" she responded before walking away to another table.

A rather tall teenager at the same table poked the one who had just been speaking. "She's the sexiest and hottest them all!" he commented as he watched the waitress's brown hair sway behind her.

The other teenager nodded. "Oh yes. Her breasts are just a little small, but otherwise… that figure," he said as more drool began to roll down from his mouth and on to the table.

Rika scoffed at the teenagers. She pitied the poor waitress who had absolutely zero idea that she was being watched from behind as she took another person's order. Keiichi had his eyebrow raised at the teenagers, looking somewhat disgusted.

Just then, the door to the changing room opened to reveal both Shion and Mion wearing Angel Mort uniforms. They both had their hair down, making them completely identical in every single way. "Ugh, Shion. Please don't ever _force_ me into an Angel Mort uniform again. That was a very traumatic experience," growled the green-haired female on the right who must have been Mion by process of elimination.

"You were being so uncooperative Onee. I had no choice," Shion sighed.

Keiichi, Rika, and Hanyuu waved to the two twin sisters. "Hey, you two! Over here!" Keiichi yelled to them. Upon hearing him, they both walked over to their three friends.

"Hey Kei-chan, Rika-chan, Hanyuu," greeted one of the twins with a huge smile on her face. "Welcome to Angel Mort. Don't worry, I got a table for you guys."

Rika looked at Hanyuu. "See? Shion managed to get a table for us! There was nothing to worry about!" she said.

The other green-haired girl rolled her eyes. "I don't see why she needs help with her job right now," she muttered angrily.

Shion elbowed her sister in the stomach, causing her to wince in pain. "Just follow us and we'll get you to the seat~," she spoke in a friendly tone. It was clear that Shion was much better at being a waitress than Mion. _I wonder if Mion works here at Angel Mort sometimes in place of Shion?_

The two twins led the two young girls and Keiichi to their seat. One of them gave them all a menu. "Here's the menu," she grunted unhappily.

Keiichi thanked them both and told them to go off for a bit to serve other customers while they made their decision. Hanyuu was looking at the high-quality pictures of the many desserts plastered on the menu with an excited face. "Can I order them all, Rika?" she asked.

That was when Keiichi caught sight of the table parallel to them. The same brown-haired waitress was been pestered by the same four teenagers with a twinkle of lust in their eyes. "Those are some pretty good sized breasts you have!" one of them complimented as he stared.

"Please don't stare!" she said meekly and hid her chest behind the platter she was carrying.

Of course, one of the twins caught sight of this instantly and ran over to the four teenagers. "Hey you four! What the hell do you think you're doing?" she yelled at them in a rage once she got to the table.

The four teenagers abandoned the sight of the brown-haired waitress to look at the green-haired one who Keiichi assumed was probably Mion by the way she talked. Mion placed her hands on her hips when she did not get an answer from the four of them. "Hey, what's with you!" she growled.

Mion had a bad feeling. She looked at the one who sat closest to where she was standing and followed his gaze to her large chest. "Whoa… you've got really huge breasts… those are the biggest I've ever seen!" he commented as more drool trickled down his chin. Mion growled at them in response.

Shion sighed and walked up to the table. "Listen, just tell us what you'd like to eat and-" she began to say before being cut off.

"Holy cow! Identical twins!" one of the teenagers screamed out.

"T-They have the exact same size breasts, too! Look!" another one yelled as he pointed to Shion's chest.

Mion and Shion looked at each other and sighed. "Just let me know when you have made up your mind," Shion spoke before grabbing her sister's hand and pulling her away from the four perverts.

The four teenagers huddled up close together. "Never mind that other brown-haired waitress! Those two are the best ones here!" one of them said.

Another one nodded at his friend. "Yes! In fact, I think that maybe if we try we can capture them and many touch them a bit…"

The third one began to drool even more. "Let's do it! When no one is looking, let's get them both…"

Keiichi was so enraged and absorbed by the scene in front of him that he didn't notice when Rena came bursting through the door carrying a disheveled Satoko.

"Satoko, what happened?" asked Hanyuu with wide eyes as they broke away from the menu.

Satoko opened her mouth to answer, but no words came out of her mouth. She closed it again and put a finger to her chin.

"I took her home with me when no one was there! Hau!" cried out Rena in her "take it home" mode.

Rika frowned and shook her head. "That's what I thought. Rena, please be a little more gentle with Satoko," she sighed.

Rena titled her head at her remark. "What do you mean, be more gentle? Rena was just hugging Satoko! Hau!" she responded.

Satoko rolled her eyes. "Just hugging? That was more like squeezing me to death!" she growled as she crossed her arms in a slight rage. Of course the poor girl was already used to Rena's "take it home" tendencies. However, sometimes Rena could be a little too rough with her victims. This made Hanyuu shudder slightly, as she had promised that Rena could take her home for an hour.

Rena seemed to ignore Satoko's comment as she looked confused at the angry brown-haired boy. She tilted her head to the side and blinked a few times. Keiichi was still gazing raptly at the four teenagers who had previously been harassing Mion and Shion. He had a feeling that he had seen something like this happen before to Shion, but at the same time he couldn't remember such actually happening. For some reason, this behavior irritated him to no end. He couldn't just let the two of them be pestered by the perverted teenagers. No, that isn't what a true friend does!

With a strong resolve, the brown-haired boy stood up with his fist still lying atop the table. He strode over to the parallel table with large steps and stopped directly in front of them. His brown bangs covered his sapphire blue eyes giving him an eerie aura.

"Eh, what the hell do YOU want?" asked a teenager rudely.

Keiichi's fists balled up. Slowly, he lifted his head up and revealed a pair of eyes full of pure anger and hatred. "You idiots. How dare you treat a girl like that?" he growled at them.

One of the other males crossed his arms. "This is Angel Mort! It's made so we can stare at the waitress's bodies! You got a problem?" he scoffed.

"Yes, I do have a problem!" he yelled at the four of them, instantly silencing any protests. "This is a restaurant. Yes, the girls wear rather skimpy uniforms and stuff like that, but that doesn't change the one rule a man must follow! Girls aren't meant to be stared at like that! Yes, a man may be a pervert. There is nothing wrong with a man being a pervert. However, your behavior disgusts me to no end! I heard everything you said. I overheard you talking about how you thought their breasts are huge and how they were identical twins and such. Of course, both of those facts are true, so I'll give you that! But I cannot forgive you for those other plans you had for them! Touching a girl without permission is a huge no in the land of males! A man like that is a complete and utter disgrace. The four of you will never get any girlfriends, I can promise you that. If there is a girl you truly like, it is for her personality and not just for her body! The four of you should be ashamed of yourself. Even planning to touch a girl without permission gives me the chills. You are taking perverted a little too far for my liking. The two of them are my friends, and I will absolutely not allow you to get anywhere close to them! Sure, they have nice bodies, but saying that you will touch them or planning something like that is something I will never forgive! So be gone, you disgraces of me!" he ranted.

The four teenagers gave him a shocked expression as they tried to process Keiichi's long speech. "So… basically, you like them?" one of the guys spoke.

Keiichi blushed at the other male's misinterpretation of his speech. "No! I do not like them! I am saying that it is absolutely wrong for you to treat girls like that!" he snapped.

"Wait! W-We weren't planning anything like that! It's just that…" he denied before his voice filled with perverted intent trailed off.

Keiichi crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Just that _what?_" he demanded.

The same teenager hesitated. "O-Okay! We get it! In fact, you remind me a lot of a father! Yes, I'm sure that you'll make a great father and one of twins will be a great mother no matter which one of them you pick!" he said in defeat.

"I already told you, I don't like them! You guys don't even get it!" he yelled again.

One of the twins timidly walked up to him and tugged on his shirt. "You've done enough, Kei-chan. Thank you," she said. "I think you should get back to your table and have dessert and forget the whole thing."

"M-Mion," he muttered in a slight shock.

It was now Mion's turn to be shocked. "Kei-chan! H-How did you know it was me?" she asked with a pink blush spread across her face.

Keiichi froze. He himself hadn't even realized that he had known her identity. "Well… you and Shion look exactly alike… but there's something different about you, Mion," he tried to explain. He stood awkwardly as he attempted to look away with a small blush on his face as well.

"Heh, so what were you saying before?" scoffed one of the teenagers, instantly breaking the tension between Mion and Keiichi.

Keiichi glared at him to shut him up and took Mion by the hand. He hastily led her across the room and back to their table without noticing the green-haired girl's flustered face. A series of thoughts raced through Mion's mind when she felt Keiichi's soft hand take her own and caused her to shudder slightly. His hand was so warm.

"I want _all_ of the food!" complained a distressed Hanyuu back at the table.

"Hanyuu, you're going to get fat!" scolded Rika.

"Hau! Pudgy Hanyuu!" Rena cried out as an image of Hanyuu appeared in her mind. Steam began to come out of her nose at the thought and she quickly sunk out of her seat.

Keiichi let go of Mion's hand and slid back in the booth. "Hey, Mion. Call Shion over here. I think we'll need a lot of waitresses to handle all the food Hanyuu wants," he ordered when he took notice of Hanyuu scanning the menu.

Mion snapped out of her daze immediately. "Huh? Oh, okay," she said with a slight smile at how Hanyuu was behaving. It was nice to see her friend happy. Knowing that it would be the last time she'd see Hanyuu, seeing her smile made her feel even better knowing she was having a good time. With that, Mion took off to go find her sister amongst the various customers and other waitresses. It took a little while before Mion spotted her sister's green hair. "Shion! The club is waiting for us!" she yelled once she had found her.

"Coming!" Shion yelled back after she had finished serving a couple of men. She then followed Mion back to where everyone else was sitting. The first thing that greeted them was Rena tackling a rather freaked out Hanyuu. Shion decided to make her presence known by clearing her throat. Rena quickly abandoned Hanyuu and sat back at her seat upon noticing her. "What would you like to order?" Shion asked once her friends had gotten themselves back in order.

"EVERYTHING!" cried out Hanyuu.

Rika sighed and shook her head at the horned girl. "You don't have to get _everything,_ Shii and Mii. Please get as much as you can for Hanyuu, though," she instructed. "I brought a lot of money today. Nipah!" she then beamed.

Shion couldn't help but grin a little bit at the younger girls. "Alright! I'll get as much as I can. Onee, you're helping!" she said.

Mion sighed. "Yes, yes, I know…"

~~~X~~~

"Dig in, everyone!" Shion yelled out to the eager club members with a smile. Many plates with desserts of all different kinds and colors covered every centimeter of the table. Hanyuu, with wide eyes, began to raid every single plate and took bites of each dessert.

"Delicious! Au au!" she said before beginning to tear another dessert open with a fork. She licked the blunt knife she was holding covered with white frosting.

After seeing how horribly Hanyuu was destroying the desserts, Rena quickly snatched up a dessert she claimed to be adorable and refused to let anyone eat it.

Mion, still clad in her Angel Mort uniform, sat in the booth across from Shion and began to share a dessert with her. She didn't want to take away too much of Hanyuu's food. After all, this was a celebration in honor of her. This was the last time the club was going to see her and the last time Hanyuu would ever eat at Angel Mort.

"Which one do you like best?" Rika asked as she played with a cherry on top of an ice cream sundae with her silver spoon.

Hanyuu swallowed the cake in her mouth. "I can't chose! Au au!" cried the horned girl before she dug into the sundae Rika had been taking a few bites out of. Rika sighed and shook her head, but did not try to take the chocolate-covered vanilla ice cream back.

A few minutes passed by before Hanyuu was down to her very last dessert. She was staring at it with a look of sadness in her eyes. This would be the very last dessert she'd ever have.

"Hanyuu, go ahead. Eat it," urged Rika.

Hanyuu continued to look at the strawberry short cake with creampuffs on the side as she was having a staring contest with it. "I want to say a few things before I do so," she spoke in a serious tone. All the members of the club obeyed and focused their eyes on the horned girl. "First of all, I want to thank you all for being so accepting of me. The first day I entered the classroom, I thought I would be ignored and forgotten. But you guys proved me wrong. I thought that you would ostracize me because of the horns on my head. You once again proved me wrong when you all decided to ignore them and not question why. I was surprised when we managed to defeat fate and save all of Hinamizawa from a dreadful and inevitable destruction. You were all so supportive of Rika and me. That's why I'm grateful to you all. And that's why I don't want to leave," she spoke, "I will treasure all of you forever… you and all of the memories that you have left me with. I will miss Satoko's traps, I will miss Rena's take it home mode, I will miss Keiichi's motivational speeches, I will miss Mion's club actives, and I will miss Shion's fun personality. There isn't one of you I want to leave. If I had a choice between leaving and staying here in Hinamizawa forever with you all, then I would certainly chose to stay here. The days in Hinamizawa have been my happiest ever. When I leave, I will never be able to find the same happiness again. I won't ever be able to participate in club activities again, I won't ever be able to have a dessert at Angel Mort again, I won't ever be smothered by Rena again, and I won't ever be able to talk to any of you guys again. The very thought of having to leave makes me upset. I hope that you guys will continue to be able to play on in club activities and such without me. I don't want you to be miserable with my leave. And finally, I want to thank each and every one of you for making my year here happy and carefree. Thank you, thank you, _thank you_," she finished.

A moment of complete silence followed. "Hanyuu, I want you to know that you'll always be with the club in spirit no matter what happens to you. You've got my word on that!" Mion suddenly perked up.

"Yeah! No matter what, I won't be able to find ANYTHING as cute as Hanyuu! Hau!" Rena said, making herself apparent.

"Ohohohohoho! Hanyuu, you were always a great friend to Rika and me. I hope you don't forget me, because I won't forget you!" Satoko spoke with her usual shrill laugh.

"I don't think the club will ever be the same without you. I'll miss you stopping by at Angel Mort every once in a while!" Shion said.

Keiichi smiled. "Hanyuu! I remember when you first came to Hinamizawa. The first day I saw you, I felt like I knew you. For some reason, I felt as if you had been with us all along and watching us everyday. That's why I was so glad that you joined the club. It felt as if you one of those people who would watch a group of friends and wish they had the courage to join in on the fun conversations they must have been having and that you finally had the courage to join in. I remember on the first day how Mion gave you hints on how to win and I ended up losing and wearing a maid outfit. Ever since that day, you have truly become a member of our club! Hanyuu, I thank _you_ for joining!" he spoke with his fiery spirit and all of his courage.

Hanyuu felt her heart beat fast at everyone's kind words. All of them had made Hanyuu feel like she had really become one of them. Once again, Keiichi had managed to use his words to create an amazing speech. _Wow, those are really effective _Hanyuu thought when he heard his passionate words.

"Hanyuu, you're crying," Rika pointed out.

"Huh?" Hanyuu hadn't even noticed the salty tears trickling down from her purple eyes. Once she did, she grabbed a napkin and tried to wipe them away.

Rika slowly took the napkin from her hand and wiped away the tears for her. "I will wash away all the bad tears… please eat the last dessert, Hanyuu," she ordered her in a soft voice. Hanyuu nodded as she raised her hand holding a knife and slowly cut into the moist cake. She picked up a chunk with her fork and brought it to her mouth, slowly chewing on it. The sweetness of the strawberry combined with the pastry and the white frosting tasted absolutely incredible. Before she knew it, she had cleaned off the last of her cake.

"Thank you, everyone, once again… thank you," Hanyuu murmured under her breath.

~~~X~~~

"I'm going to miss them. I'm going to really miss them," Hanyuu said as her and Rika wandered past the forest to the Saiguden. Apparently, Rika had forgotten a mop in the shrine, which she needed to do a little cleaning in the house.

"I know Hanyuu, I know," Rika replied as she focused on pushing the branches covered in green leaves out of her way. A rather sharp branch grazed her face and left a small cut. Red blood seeped from the scratch. However, the young miko ignored this. A small cut was nothing compared what she had gone through in other Hinamizawas. Besides, it wasn't going to hinder her from going to the nearby Saiguden.

"I know I can see them and see how things are going… but I won't be able to talk to them!" complained the horned girl as the two of them approached the Saiguden. Rika was about to respond when she noticed something very strange about the tool shed in front of them.

"…Hanyuu!" she spoke as she ran up to the Saiguden and examined the weak lock. The lock had been picked and someone had clearly broken into the shrine. "Hanyuu! Quick, look at this!" she cried.

The purple-haired girl ran up to the lock and looked at it with wide dark purple eyes. "It's true! Rika, someone has broken in!" she yelled out in pure shock as Rika pushed the door open and ran in. Her small feet hit the creaky wood and startled Hanyuu slightly. The miko instantly noticed the box containing the books on Hinamizawa that she had closed when she left was now wide open. She bolted to the box and looked into it. It didn't look as if anything had been stolen. The number of books was exactly the same as the time she had looked through it previously. Rika quickly assumed the worst and glanced to the walls. _Please, don't tell me someone took the torture tools!_ She begged as she scanned the walls for any tools that might be missing. She sighed in relief when she noticed all the dissection tools in place. _Then, what happened?_ She wondered. That's when the blue-haired girl took another look inside the old box with the books. One of them looked as if it had been recently read and thrown back in the box carelessly. Rika picked the book up and read the title.

_Onifaguchi Legends and Rules #8: The Sonozaki Family._

~~~X~~~

**Crimso's Corner.**

**So… tired. It's three AM on Saturday. It was Wednesday when I wrote the author's note at the top.**

**SPRING BREAK! TWO WEEKS OF NO SCHOOL! **_**HELL YES!**_**  
Well I barely finished this chapter. I wanted to finish it and upload it before I went to bed because I felt I needed to update. **

**I know not much happened in this chapter and I apologize. And I also apologize for Hanyuu's rather long speech. I wonder how that turns out looking on the website.**

**Oh yeah, I **_**finally **_**realized how to add words to the Microsoft Word dictionary. Before, it was impossible to do a spell check because it would mark everyone's name wrong. Most of the words weren't even wrong, they were just names of the characters. So I went back through all my chapters and added everything that had to do with Higurashi that was apparently spelled wrong. Even Ohohohohoho. And yes, I remember the number of ohohos. Spell check made sure it was the exact number.**

**Speaking of Microsoft word… the grammar check sucks. Three quarters of the time the changes they suggest to me are incorrect. They keep telling me to add question marks to the end of sentences that are clearly not questions. And most of the time it's saying that I shouldn't repeat au au. **

**I'm in a writing mood today… maybe that's why this edition of Crimso's Corner is long?**

**Oh well, getting back to the fanfiction. Yes, not much happened in this chapter. Next chapter (AND I SWEAR NEXT CHAPTER) we'll be starting on the second part of this story (there are four parts). It's rather short I think. I plan it on being 2-4 chapters. I'm honestly looking forward to writing the good parts of this story! I have had this WHOLE story planned out for a few months but have been too embarrassed to ever write it because I'm not 100% confident on my writing skills.**

**I'm going to end this here because this Crimso's Corner is way too long and no one reads these things anyways.**

**~Crimso**


	8. Chapter 7: Midnight

**Yo, Crimso here! So I forgot to thank all my reviewers in the last chapter. Honestly, you're all amazing. I don't think I could write without your support T_T. So thanks!  
Okay, so moving on to Chapter 7 (It IS chapter 7, right? Right.) This takes place the same day as Chapter 6. This is kind of a transition chapter (I guess).**

**Oh yeah, I'm glad to have 40,000+ words now. I feel epic in a way.**

~~~X~~~

Night began to fall on Hinamizawa. It was partially cloudy, but not enough so that the clouds covered the bright moon. Mion was slumped on her futon wearing her normal yellow turtleneck t-shirt and jeans with her green hair tied into it's usual long ponytail. "What a day," she groaned as she rolled over.

"Yeah, what a day," agreed Shion who was busy brushing her long green hair while standing in front of a mirror.

"Hey," growled Mion, "you weren't the one who was _forced_ into an Angel Mort uniform."

Shion shrugged as she put the brush back on her dresser and wandered back to her own futon. "We both had to put up with perverts, though. Man, those four are worse than the usual people," she sighed.

The older twin grasped one of her sheets. "And then there was the whole incident with Hanyuu," she said under her breath.

Shion gave Mion a mournful glance. "It's a real shame, isn't it? But we gave her a proper farewell," she responded.

Mion nodded and said nothing. Her mind began to wander. With this, the club would surely be left feeling upset and their fiery spirits would be extinguished. She couldn't let that happen. After all, Hanyuu said that she wanted the club to be able to continue playing without her. It was Hanyuu's wish, so Mion felt as the club leader that she needed to abide by it. But how was she to keep the spirits high when they had just lost a precious friend? The green-haired female felt as if it were impossible to go on with the club activities after this. However, she knew that she couldn't let that happen. _Think, Sonozaki Mion! How are you going to cheer up the club?_

"I'VE GOT IT!" Mion unexpectedly yelled as she flew upright. Her sudden burst of energy caused the sheets on her futon to scatter in every direction.

Shion was startled. "You got what, Onee?" she asked in shock.

"I've got an idea on how to keep the club in high spirits!" she answered. She bawled her fist and raised it high in the air.

"Oh no," Shion responded. Mion's ideas were quite eccentric to say the least. Usually, they involved making someone dress up in a frilly maid outfit or some other kind of strange costume. Whatever Mion was thinking, Shion was scared of it.

"Come with me!" Mion yelled as she grabbed her sister by the wrist. Shion opened her mouth to protest but quickly shut her mouth knowing that there was nothing that could stop her identical twin once she got an idea. Mion led Shion into the closet just outside their room and began to rummage through the many objects that cluttered it.

"Please don't tell me that this has to do with sadistically dressing someone up in a girly outfit," sighed Shion.

Mion stopped going through various junk, turned around, and smiled. "Nope! I have a much better idea and it will be fun for the whole club!" she said. "Of course, that doesn't mean that there won't be punishment games," she then added evilly.

Mion turned back to the closet and looked through the objects. After a few minutes, Shion began to tap her foot impatiently. "Can you please tell me your idea?" she requested.

The other green-haired girl looked around and grabbed her sister by the shoulders. "Okay, but as long as you tell absolutely no one!" she responded. Shion nodded in response. "Alright, so," Mion said before whispering her idea into Shion's ear. As she began to tell her the plan, Shion's green eyes widened and she whipped around to look at Mion.

"Are you serious, Mion? Do you think that will work out?" she asked.

Mion grinned. "I'm sure that we can pull it off~! Besides, the club needs a break," she responded.

Shion crossed her arms and gave her an unsure look. "Do you think Onibaba will allow it?"

"Yup, I'm sure it'll be okay! I just need to ask the members if they're okay with it," she responded. She then paused. "…And find the equipment we need."

~~~X~~~

It was now just before the clock hit midnight in the small village called Hinamizawa. The black clouds were slowly drifting across the dark blue sky. For just a moment, one of them covered the shining moon and blocked off it's light. Furude Rika sat on her windowsill holding a cup decorated with floral patterns. She swished the purple liquid contained in the cup around in a circle before she took a small sip of the alcoholic drink. Standing next to her was Hanyuu, looking nervous as Rika took another sip. She played with the hem of her nightgown in attempt to avoid the gaze of her best friend and presumed distant cousin.

"In the end, we never found out who broke into the Saiguden and why," murmured Hanyuu.

Rika gave her a slight nod. "Yeah. I wonder why someone was reading about the Sonozaki family. It's not like they're suspicious anymore. After all, no one seems to remember Oyashiro-sama's curse," she spoke gravely.

This caused the goddess to remember what was happening that night. "Rika, when the clock hits midnight, I won't be able to be seen by anyone else anymore," Hanyuu spoke up.

The blue-haired girl set her wine in front of her on the windowsill and slowly moved her vision from the dusky sky to the horned girl. "Yes, Hanyuu, I know," she responded in a dull tone.

Hanyuu dropped the soft fabric of her nightclothes from her fingers and reached out to take the cup of deep purple wine from the blue-haired girl's hands. Rika responded instantly by snatching the wine back up and holding it far above the goddess's head. "I'm sorry, Hanyuu. I won't stop drinking. I'm in a bad mood tonight, so leave me alone," she said with a barely noticeable growl.

The purple-haired girl drew her hand back and set it on her lap looking ashamed at her sudden actions. The two of them sat in silence for many minutes. Rika kept sipping at her wine slowly while Hanyuu's attention focused raptly on the clock. The only sound that was heard was that of the ticking noises the clock was making as it slowly approached midnight.

Out of nowhere, the cup containing Rika's wine flew across the room and hit the wall sending purple liquid flying everywhere. Hanyuu's gaze broke away from the clock and glanced between Rika and the stain on the wall. "Au au au au!" she cried out and covered her head.

Rika's face was full of pure annoyance and anger. Her mouth was left slightly open, showing her white teeth. "Damn it! Why the hell does it have to be this way!" she screamed and covered her face completely with her hands. She began to dig her fingernails into her face out of shear vexation.

Hanyuu was startled to say the least. Swiftly, she jumped to her feat and began to tug at Rika's arms in attempt to pull them away from her face. She was afraid that her sharp fingernails would end up going too deep into her skin and cause her to bleed.

Rika's hands were finally pulled away as she revealed her face. Shockingly, small tears were forming in the corners of her purple eyes. "I don't want it to be this way, Hanyuu!" she cried out. The purple-haired girl reached out to comfort the other, but her endeavor to do so was cut short by the miko pushing her away.

"Rika," murmured the goddess in a voice barely above a whisper. "It's okay, Rika. I've always… I've always been in spiritual form before a year ago. It's nothing we're not used to, now is it? I'll be fine. You will be fine, too. The club will also be fine. I'm sure you can count on Mion to fix everyone up."

Her words failed to bring any sort of comfort to the blue-haired girl. "Says you. If something goes wrong, then we won't be able to fix it! The power of friendship taught us that we need everyone to be here in order to break fate! So what are we going to do if we get caught in another cycle of murder? How are we going to fix it?" she snapped. Rika crossed her arms over her chest and grunted. It was clear that she was feeling apprehensive about the upcoming Watanagashi festival and what was to come even after that. Without the help of Hanyuu, Rika would have never lived to see 1984 or even July of 1983.

Just then, the large clock struck midnight. With the loud sounding of the alarm, May ended and June started. Slowly, as if on cue, Hanyuu became enveloped in a bright yellow light. Rika's eyes widened with fear. "Hanyuu! What's happening?" she yelled to her. Was Hanyuu really just disappearing? What if Hanyuu wasn't even going to return to her spiritual form? "Hanyuu! Answer me!"

The light slowly faded. Where Hanyuu was once sitting nothingness filled. Rika whipped her head around the room in search for a sign of the purple-haired girl. Was she here? Rika didn't know. A fear began to grow in the pit of her stomach as she failed to find the goddess.

"Rika… Rika!" A voice called to her. Rika's eyes widened as the goddess suddenly faded in in front of her. She was slightly see-through as before, and was once again clad in her miko outfit instead of her nightclothes. Rika jumped off the windowsill and walked closer to the now spiritual Hanyuu.

"Hanyuu! You're alright, aren't you?" she asked.

The purple-haired girl looked down to her toes and wriggled them nervously. "Yes, I'm fine. I just disappeared for a few seconds. It seems that I am now in spiritual form," she answered.

Rika sighed with relief as she slumped back. "I thought you were gone for good for a few seconds there, Hanyuu," she murmured.

Hanyuu gave her a sad smile. "I'm fine, Rika. I just turned back into a spirit and am no longer visible to anyone else but you."

Rika nodded and glanced back at the moon. _I feel a faint presence…_

~~~X~~~

The club members were gathered again for yet another quick meeting during lunch. This time, however, spirits were not lit and members did not have the urge to play a game. Well, everyone except for Mion.

"Come on everyone! Let's get on with the match! What shall we play?" she asked.

No one responded. Everyone was staring melancholically down at the table and said not a word. Mion sighed and placed her hands on her hips before looking down herself. "I know, Hanyuu is gone…"

It turned out to really be true. This morning, Rika walked in with Satoko and without Hanyuu. Rika had informed them all that Hanyuu had left earlier that night and told her to tell everyone that she said goodbye.

"It just seems wrong," Keiichi murmured.

Rena nodded. "Without Hanyuu, there's not as much cute. Rika and Satoko are still adorable, though," she said.

Mion stood up and padded to the front of the table made from each and everyone of their desks. "I have an announcement to make!" she yelled to all of them rather loudly. This caused everyone to raise their heads and give their leader a confused look. What was she going to say?

Mion cleared her throat. "I know everyone's down from Hanyuu's departure, and so am I. However, before she left, she told us all that she hoped the club would be able to continue club activities without her and not be impacted that much by her leave. Of course, we cannot completely abide by this. Hanyuu's leave is already a huge impact to the club in itself. But it appears as if we are all down due to this. As much as I feel bad that Hanyuu isn't here anymore, I want to be able to grant her wish. I cannot allow the club to be so sad for this long! That's why, as the club leader, I have something planned to keep your spirits up and to hopefully cheer you all up!" she told them all boldly. _That's right. I have to take responsibility. This is my club and I'm their leader. _

"What is it, Mi-chan? I wonder, I wonder," Rena asked.

"Ohohohohoho! Did Mion-san buy some new games?" Satoko guessed feeling pretty confident about her answer.

Mion shook her head at Satoko. "Nope! We're all going camping!" she announced as she spread her arms out.

"WHAT!" screamed all the club members at once save for Mion and Shion.

Shion gave them a smile. "It was Onee's idea. She told me that she wanted to make everyone happy, and that she wanted to give you all a break. Of course, there will be club activities," she told them.

"H-Hold on! Do you even _have_ the necessary things for camping?" Keiichi stuttered in shock.

Mion shot him a glance. "Of course I do! Do you think that this old man would just go plan something that she can't even do? I've got four tents and some sleeping bags! Of course, you guys will need to pack your clothes and such yourself. Oh and, you have to bring your own bag. We'll be roasting marshmallows and all that other stuff!" she said excitedly. Keiichi gave her a worried glance. What the heck did this girl have in mind? Various ideas of what they'd be doing during the camping trip filled Keiichi's mind. He cringed at the thought of Mion's club activities during the trip.

"Camping trip?" a small but masculine voice suddenly rang out. All of the club members turned to see Hisao standing across from Mion and walking over to them.

Mion grinned. "Yup! You heard us right! We're gonna go on a camping trip! Hisao-san, do you want to come?" she asked him.

Hisao looked down nervously. He bit his lip and began to tremble slightly. Timidly, he opened his mouth and began to speak, "c-can I come?" he asked. After he spoke those words, he instantly covered his mouth and shook his head. "N-No! I m-mean… does it trouble you i-if I were to come?" he rephrased.

Mion walked up to him and placed a hand on one of his shoulders, which caused the black-haired boy to jump. "Yes. We have four tents and six people. We can surely fit you in!" she responded. She gave him a warm smile in order to comfort him. She only met him a few days ago, but she knew that Hisao wasn't comfortable speaking to people. She applauded his courage for being able to speak up.

A loud and rather rude voice broke the calm atmosphere. "Hey Hisao, what the heck do you think you're doing?" Etsuko asked. In shock, Hisao tumbled backwards and landed on his butt. "What's this I hear about Hisao going on a camping trip?"

Rika stumbled out of her chair and tugged on the pink-haired girl's skirt. Etsuko looked down to meet two wide purple eyes staring up at her hopefully. "Mii, Hisao just wanted to go on our little trip! It's no problem!" the blue-haired girl spoke.

Etsuko gave her a cold glare that sent shivers down Rika's spine. "I won't allow it!" she snapped.

The young miko shot her a very confused and shocked look. "Why?" she growled at her, "you're not his mother! You may be related to him, but that doesn't mean you can control him!"

Hisao stood in the corner and began to quiver. "It's alright, Furude-san… if Nee-chan doesn't want me to, then I won't bother you…" he said in a low tone. Rika whipped around to look at the black-haired boy in shock. Was he really just going to let Etsuko control him like this?

Rena began to make an upset face. "Why can't Hisao-kun join us? I wonder, I wonder," she spoke, disheartened. She attempted to make a cute face, as if it would convince the pink-haired girl to let Hisao come with them. Unfortunately for Rena, Etsuko was clearly not as easily captivated by cuteness as she was.

"Come on, Hisao! Let's go back to our table!" she ordered as she grabbed her brother's hand and began to tug him away from the club members.

"Wait!" a voice suddenly rang out. Etsuko slowly turned around to meet the stern green-eyes of Sonozaki Mion. Her arms were crossed in a slight rage and her eyes began to narrow. "Ohba Etsuko, why are you trying to ostracize Hisao-san from everything we do?" she asked seriously, placing emphasis on the pink-haired girl's name.

Etsuko clenched her teeth and her grip on her brother's hand quickly tightened. "I'm just worried for him. Is there something wrong with that?" she asked.

"Of course!" yelled Mion at the slightly younger female. "I too have a younger sibling and would do anything to protect her. But I do not limit her activities! Your brother needs to learn how to take the world on by himself. Do you know why he's acting so timid and can't make friends? It's because of you!" she snapped back with belligerence shining in her emerald-green eyes.

Etsuko glanced around at all the club members who were looking at her with equally stern expressions. She bit her lip defeat and made a slight noise. "Alright! Hisao can come, but only if I can come with him!" she said as she gave into the club members.

"Fine, so be it! Etsuko and Hisao will be coming with us on the trip!" announced Mion. She took out a dry-erase marker and a whiteboard and began to scribble down a few notes. "We will now assign tents! Kei-chan, you'll be with Hisao-san as you two are the only male members. I'll be with Shion," she spoke as she wrote down their names next to each other. "Rika-chan, I assume you'll want to share a tent with Satoko. So that leaves Rena and Etsuko. Any objections?" she asked as she put a cap on the dry-erase marker.

"None, club leader!" all the club members cried out in unison.

Mion slowly closed her eyes before opening them with lighting speed. "Then it's decided! Pack your clothes and any other things you'll need, because we'll be going on a camping trip tomorrow!" she declared so that the whole club and perhaps even the whole room could hear her.

Cheers of the club members echoed throughout the whole room at the final decision. They were all pumped up and ready for what was to come. Mion placed her hands on her hips and marveled at her success to cheer the club up. _You did it, Sonozaki Mion! Now let's get ready for this!_

~~~X~~~

The twins found themselves in their room later that night packing for the upcoming trip. Mion excitedly went through the clothes in her dresser and packed whatever she felt was necessary. "I'll need better shoes… and maybe I should pack some food as well. We can't be expected to hunt after all," she spoke to herself as she folded some jeans and slipped them into her backpack.

Shion had already finished packing and now was reading a manga on her futon. She flipped through the page dully with a sigh. "This is a really boring manga," she commented.

Mion frowned at her sister. "Hey, why don't you come up here and help me then? It's probably more entertaining than reading that manga of yours," she suggested before turning back to her dresser and putting away one of her t-shirts.

The younger green-haired female closed the unexciting and rather poorly written manga she was reading and threw it to the side of the room. "But what would I help you with, Onee? All you're doing is packing some clothing," she pointed out.

Mion responded by throwing a rather long list at her sister, hitting her square in the face. "Go pack some of these!" she ordered.

Shion scrolled down the list with her eyes hastily. "Canned food, toothpaste, toothbrush, marshmallows…" she read. "Hey sis, you know I can't stand canned food," she murmured.

Mion shrugged. "Whatever sis. Just pack some snacks or somethin'. Like those trail mixes they sell at the shops in Okinomiya. Those are always good. Not like they'd be any good for dinner but," she told her.

The younger twin decided not to protest any of her sister's ideas and went straight to the kitchen to gather whatever snacks she found. She soon returned a few minutes later carrying quite a huge stack of a large variety of snacks she had founded laying about. "Is this enough, Onee?" she panted.

The older green-haired twin nodded. "Yup! That should be enough! Just put those in that bag over there and we'll be done!" she instructed. Shion obeyed and began to carefully stuff the food into the sack. She had to make sure that none of the food got crushed.

Once the two of them were finished with whatever chores they had left to do, they both collapsed on their futons.

"So, we're all done?" Shion asked.

"Yeah, we're all done."

Shion sighed with relief. Packing for the trip was quite hard work, seeing that Mion was hosting the event herself and was expected to bring in all the food and supplies they needed. Of course, they'd need help transporting the tents and such, but that worry was to be saved for the next day.

"Hey, about that girl, Etsuko," Shion suddenly said.

Mion looked down at the mention of the pink-haired girl's name. "It's not like I'm trying to make enemies with her or anything," she murmured. "It's just that I couldn't stand her treating her brother like that."

Shion looked down as well. "I see…"

"I'm still going to try to make friends with her. I don't want any enemies here. I'm going to give her another chance," Mion spoke as she twirled with a lose strand of her green hair. She spoke her honest feelings out. What was the point of making enemies? Mion could understand where Etsuko was coming from. She would kill to protect her younger sister. However, the idea of restricting her because of it sickened her. Now that she had talked her out of that, it was possible they could still become friends.

Shion gave her a small smile. "Alright, Onee. But it's getting late and we need to go to sleep. We need to get up early tomorrow and such, so let's go to bed now."

Mion nodded as she turned off the lights and snuggled into the warm sheets of her futon. After a long day, she was glad to finally receive some rest. "Goodnight, Shion," Mion said as she closed her eyes.

"Goodnight, Mion," Shion responded as she too fell into a deep slumber.

~~~X~~~

**Crimso's Corner**

**I'm as tired as hell. It's 2 AM (please do not ask why I am not asleep, it has to do with people being extremely noisy in my house and refusing to go to sleep. The scene at the end there with Mion and Shion snuggling up in their bed and going to sleep? Yeah, that's kind of my heaven right now. Sorry about the end of the chapter, I was kind of half asleep.**

**Okay, please ignore my rambling up there.**

**TRANSITION CHAPTER FOR THE WIN! Yeah, that's basically the point of this chapter. It was kind of short, too. I honestly cannot write very well at 2 AM. Maybe I should leave time in the day for me to write. So yeah, if nothing really seemed to happen then I apologize. It's these tiny chapters that seem unimportant that are actually extremely important. If I took this chapter out the whole story might not even make sense. Okay, that was an exaggeration. Besides, we did have that little important part up there where Hanyuu went back into her spiritual form**

**So next chapter is the first part of the camping trip (yes, there are multiple parts. Not sure how many there will be. I'm just going to write and I'll end a chapter when I see fit. It could take two, it could take five. Is this fanfiction taking too long? :|.**

**I wonder if I can go to bed soon...**

**EDIT: Okay as of today (2 AM on Monday) Fanfiction isn't letting me add the chapter. It keeps saying there's a service error :|. I hope that doesn't last TOO long.**

**~Crimso**


	9. Chapter 8: First Signs

**Crimso here! Soooo It's not letting me upload Chapter 7 so I'm going to write Chapter 8 now. Obviously by the time you're reading this Chapter 7 has been uploaded but.**

**Once again, I apologize for the delay. Blame FF. **

**Ack. I'm having a slight Writer's block at the moment. Let's see if I can overcome it. I hate Writer's block so much. Eh, it probably won't last too long. I'm honestly just too excited to write the rest of this fanficition. Is that strange?**

**Oh well. Camping trip time! Enjoy Chapter eight.**

~~~X~~~

It was Sunday when all of the club members plus the Ohba siblings showed up at the watermill carrying backpacks stuffed to the top with clothing and any other supplies they had found necessary. Poor Shion had been ordered to carry most of the tents and was now beginning to wobble over from the weight of the package. Her twin sister, Mion, was carrying the other tents. Unfortunately for Shion, Mion had dumped her with the packages containing the snacks and was also being forced to carry that on her aching back.

"Kei-chan, help Shion with the bags," Mion ordered as she too struggled to balance the weight of both her clothing and the two tents she was carrying in packages.

Keiichi threw his arms up. "Why is it always me, Mion?" he growled. "Go get someone else to carry the bags. I'm sick of doing it for you all the time!"

Mion wagged her finger. "Tsk tsk. You're a man. That's no way to treat a girl," she scolded with a smirk across her face. "Besides, it's just _some_ of the bags. Didn't your dad say he'd help us carry some stuff over to the woods and then leave?'

Keiichi paused and scratched his head. "Well, I guess he _DID_ say that," he muttered. When Keiichi had informed his dad that he was going on a camping trip, he had insisted on helping them carry their things to the site they would be camping on. He had accepted his offer. After all, his dad wouldn't hinder him in any way, right?

"Hello everyone~!" a voice called out to the eight of them. Keiichi instantly recognized the man running down the pathway to them as his father.

Keiichi gave his dad a wave and smiled. "Hey dad! We're over here!" he yelled to him. It took about a few seconds for his dad to reach the club members. When he did, he bent over and placed his hands on his knees and began to pant heavily.

"Whoa! I had to run here as fast as I can. Your mother was having some trouble with the cooking supplies and-" he began to explain in a rush.

Keiichi raised his hand to tell him to stop talking. "It's alright, dad. We understand. We're not in a huge rush or anything after all," he told him. They were planning on hanging out at the site for the first week or two of June. They were to return to the village about a week before the Watanagashi festival as Mion needed to help her family prepare for it.

Mion began to inspect Keiichi's father with her eyes narrowed and a smirk across her face. She then looked over to Keiichi and continued to switch her gaze between the two of them. "Hm… you two look alike. I thought it was impossible for a parent and a child to look _that_ alike. I wonder if you two are similar in personality, too?" she said.

The brown-haired boy sighed and shook his head. "Mion, we don't look _that_ alike. I don't have a goatee," he said. Then he paused for a few seconds and crossed his arms. "In fact, I don't think we look alike at all!" he added on.

Mion let out a large laugh. "Of course you two don't look alike in your vision! I've noticed that kids can't really see the resemblance to their parents," she responded. The green-haired girl suddenly began to walk in circles around Keiichi and his father as she started to talk once again. "For example! When Rika's mother was still alive, I'd always say she looked just like her! But Rika always said that she didn't."

Rika stiffened at the mention of her mother. The young Furude miko and her mother had never been on quite so good terms. As Rika had had to repeat her life many times, she always acted solemn and rather bored as a child. Rika's mother did not like this. She thought it was strange behavior and hated it whenever someone brought up that Rika was the supposed reincarnation of Oyashiro-sama. As Rika had known that she was to die on the third year of Oyashiro-sama's curse, she refused to grow close to her mother so it wouldn't be painful when she died. In truth, she just didn't want to hear Mion say that she and her mother looked alike. It wasn't because she hated her mother; it was simply because she didn't want it to hurt when she died. Hanyuu, in her spiritual form, instantly sensed her uncomfortableness. After all, Hanyuu had been the influence of some her bad habits. When she was little, Rika had no idea that no one else could see Hanyuu. She was convinced that she was a part of a four-person family and was very curious as to why her mother would never feed Hanyuu or talk to her. Guilt began to fill her stomach as she faded away from Rika's view.

"However!" Mion said as she continued her lecture, "there _are_ times when people say a parent and child look exactly alike when they look nothing alike! For example, everyone tells me that I look exactly like my mother when I don't look like her!"

"Mion," Keiichi murmured as he resisted the urge to hit himself in the face, "you just proved your point about children not being able to tell when their parents look like them."

Rika frowned as she looked up at Mion. "You look exactly like your mother, Mii…" she informed her. After hearing this, Mion pointed directly at Rika.

"See! Everyone always says it and I have no idea why!" she yelled as if she hadn't heard Keiichi's comment at all.

"ANYWAYS!" yelled Keiichi's dad, interrupting the heated conversation between the three club members. "My name is Maebara Ichirou and as you already know, I'm Keiichi's dad!" he introduced himself with a bow.

Rika walked up to Ichirou and looked into his blue eyes; the same color as Keiichi. "Mii, it's nice to meet you, sir! I'm Furude Rika of the Furude shrine! Nipah!" she beamed.

Ichirou grinned and waved to the blue-haired girl who was about as tall as his legs. "Wow, Keiichi. You have quite the group of friends," he marveled as he glanced about the club members. "Though I must ask, which one of them is your girlfriend?" he asked.

Keiichi punched his dad in the face upon hearing his comment. "I already told you a thousand times, I _don't_ have a girlfriend!" he yelled.

Fake tears began to stream down the older man's face in a cascading waterfall. "I'm sorry Keiichi! Your father just wanted a cute daughter-in-law!" he apologized as he dramatically fell to the ground on his knees. The fake tears stopped as he glanced around at the group for a second time. "Wait, so you're not dating Rena-chan? I was sure that you two were-"

"We are _not_ dating!" Keiichi yelled as he delivered another strong punch to his father's right cheek.

Ichirou looked upset at his comment. "Aw! But the two of you would make such a cute couple! Your dad approves!" he said giving his son a thumbs up and a wink.

The brown-haired boy looked angry and opened his mouth to respond, but was then cut off by a hand being placed on his shoulder. "Your dad is kind of weird, Keiichi-kun," commented a feminine voice he soon identified as Ohba Etsuko's.

Keiichi turned to face her purple-eyes, which currently lacked a defined emotion. "Yeah, he's quite… eccentric. Him and I are close, however," he said glancing over at his dad who was busy greeting Satoko and Rika.

"Oh?" she murmured as she too watched.

It took a little over five seconds for Ichirou to notice Etsuko and Keiichi standing side by side. "Oh, are you new? I haven't seen you walking with my son before," he asked as he walked over to the pink-haired girl.

Etsuko's expression changed from rather emotionless to happy. "Yup! I just moved in a few days ago~! My name is Ohba Etsuko!" she introduced herself excitedly.

"It's nice to meet you, young lady!" he responded as he shook the girl's much smaller hand. Ichirou then looked at Keiichi with a slight smirk. "Hey Keiichi, if you aren't interested in the other girls over there, then maybe you should check out this new girl," he suggested before giving him yet another knowing wink.

Etsuko's face suddenly turned as pink as the color of her hair at Ichirou's remark. "Um… that's kind of-" she began to say before Keiichi's voice overpowered hers.

"No no no! Dad, you need to stop assuming that everyone here is my girlfriend! None of us are dating and I don't like anyone here!" he yelled at him in protest as he flailed his arms.

Ichirou gave his son a frown. "You don't like anyone?"

Keiichi crossed his arms. "No one. We're all just friends here."

"Alright then, son! If you say so!" he said.

Keiichi sighed and shook his head. "This is kind of an awkward conversation to have in front of all my friends, dad," he pointed out before gesturing to the staring club members.

Ichirou turned to look at the five girls who were all trying to ignore their conversation. It was most definitely strange to hear their male friend talk about his love life, especially when it involved their relationships with him. "Oh, I'm sorry, girls! Now just give me some packages to carry and I'll carry them to wherever! I might even help you guys set up a little," he said as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

Shion, who had completely forgotten about the load she was carrying on the back, nudged her sister in the stomach. "Hey Onee, give him the packages," she muttered. Mion was staring blankly at Keiichi, seemingly in deep thought. When she didn't react at all, her sister elbowed her in the stomach again. "Onee, give him the packages," she repeated nervously.

Mion suddenly snapped out of her stupor. "Huh? Oh, packages. Here," she said as she handed a rather heavy and large package to Ichirou who took it in his arms without any problem. After doing so, she glanced at all the club members, as well as Etsuko and Hisao, and spoke loudly, "Alright! Are we all ready to go?"

"Yes! We're ready, club leader!" cried all the club members in unison. Instead of responded, Hisao hid behind Etsuko's back, scared at the thought of what was to come.

"Gee, I told you you shouldn't have come," Etsuko scolded Hisao as he clung to the back of her rather fancy shirt in fear.

"Let's go, everyone!" yelled Mion as she gestured for everyone to follow her. She turned around and began to walk down the path of Hinamizawa to the thick woods located near the Saiguden. As the passed by the Furude Shrine, Rika gave it a good look. After the Saiguden had been raided, she feared that someone would attempt to destroy the Furude Shrine or do some other act of vandalism. Of course, Rika and Hanyuu had never succeeded in figuring out who had broken into it and why. However, it was important that nothing else got ruined no matter what the person who had broken in was plotting.

The ten of them (including Hanyuu) ventured further away from the Saiguden and even deeper into the woods. Rika cringed as she found a very small clearing with a circle of thick trees surrounding it. She recognized this place as the place all her friends had been killed in the second to last Hinamizawa. She remembered the scene all too well. Takano had tied up her, Satoko, and Shion and had dragged the dead bodies of Keiichi, Mion, and Rena to the clearing as well. Shortly after, she had shot Shion in the head and Satoko not even a minute after that. If she were to look at the clearing long enough, she could visualize the Yamainu chasing the club members and Takano shooting them one by one.

Rika shook her head to get the memory out and concentrated on the path ahead. Luckily, this wasn't the spot Mion had chosen for camping. If it had been, Rika was sure that the trip would be a living nightmare for her.

At the front of the group, Mion was struggling to carry the huge box as well as the giant backpack she wore on her back. However, the weight of the supplies was the least of her concerns at the moment. She was still thinking about the conversation Keiichi and his dad had had about an hour ago. _He said he didn't like anyone_, she thought. Ichirou had insisted that Rena and Keiichi were dating and then suggested that Etsuko and Keiichi should if he wasn't interested in any of the girls over there, to quote his dad. He hadn't even given the idea that Mion and Keiichi were dating a thought. Why? Was it because she was too much of a tomboy for Keiichi to even consider her as a possible romantic partner? Or was it because she didn't seem to be as cute as Etsuko or Rena? Ichirou had also said that Rena and Keiichi made a good couple and that he approved of the two of them dating (if they were to ever date at all). This caused her to wonder. Did Rena like Keiichi? Mion had never asked Rena about it as she was too embarrassed, but it was entirely possible. No, that was untrue. The reason why she never asked was because she was scared that Rena also liked him. Mion turned her head to watch as Keiichi and Rena engaged in a conversation. Keiichi had seemingly just told a funny joke which caused Rena to giggle adorably. But then again, Keiichi had said that he didn't like anyone. _Including me. _She continued to watch the two as Keiichi patted Rena on the head and ruffled her orange hair. Rena instantly blushed as Keiichi's hand came in contact with her head. This scene was enough to convince Mion of something. _She definitely likes him!_

Perhaps Keiichi would fall for Rena's girly personality and adorable looks. Didn't all males prefer a cute girl to a crude, tomboyish one? Mion's gaze began to focus on Etsuko, who was trying to comfort her nervous brother. She had rather cute looks as well, didn't she? As she passed a trickling, clear river, Mion gazed at her reflection. She was wearing her usual yellow t-shirt and jeans along with her holstered gun located by her chest. Her emerald-green hair was tied up in a long ponytail that reached down to her waist. Her eyes were of a slightly darker color than her hair. She placed her hands on her hips as she observed her body with a frown. _Rena and Etsuko are much more attractive than me, _she thought with a sigh. She shook her head at the thought and continued down the old road tattered with splotches of dirt. She tried not to think about the subject as she focused on carrying the hefty package stuffed to the top with tools for camping.

"Mion, I'll help you with that," a masculine voice said to her. She whipped around to meet Keiichi's smiling face. He was standing very close to her, about maybe a foot and a half away. Mion opened her mouth to accept his offer but was cut off by her own thoughts. His sapphire blue eyes were staring right into her emerald ones, shining with pride and confidence.

"S-Sure," she muttered an acceptance before handing over the heavy box she was carrying. As she did so, Keiichi's hand touched hers and pulled it away gently. He held the box without any problem in his strong arms and looked at it.

"I'll carry it for the rest of the trip. You just go on carrying that backpack, okay?" he instructed as he gave her a light smile.

Mion tried to respond but no words would come to her mouth. Instead, she nodded ever so slightly. _I never knew he was so strong, _she thought as her eyes scanned his muscular body.

"Mion, is there something wrong?" he asked sounding rather worried when she didn't respond with words.

Mion quickly shook her head in attempt to hide what she had been thinking. "N-Nothing! It's nothing at all! This old man is just kind of tired Gahaha!" she responded with one of her large laughs. Keiichi raised an eyebrow, not entirely convinced.

"Mion, you don't look good," he commented as he placed his hand on her forehead to check her temperature. The green-haired female instantly grew red at the feel of his warm hand pressed against her forehead. Keiichi noticed this and looked alarmed. "Mion! You're all red! Are you sick?" he asked.

"N-No I'm not sick! I'm just… just! ARGH!" Mion responded before she began to run away from Keiichi as fast as a cheetah. He blinked in puzzlement as he watched her run off.

"Gee, I sure hope she isn't sick," Keiichi murmured as he went back to join in on helping Rena get Hisao to be a bit less nervous around them.

~~~X~~~

The ten of them eventually arrived at the camping grounds. The area they were at was a clearing like the one Rika had seen before, however it was much larger and did not bring any bad memories to her head. The periphery of the circle was decorated with green grass that swayed slightly in the wind while the rest of the campground was covered with dirt. There was a small pit located in the center that Rika automatically assumed was for building campfires as there were four logs placed around it in a circle. Rika had seen this area one or two times before. She had recognized this area as the area she had gone camping on before. When she had been a little girl, Mion had dragged her along to go camping with her and Shion. Of course, at that time, Rika had no idea Shion actually existed so she thought that she was just going camping with Mion. The two of them were very good at keeping Shion's identity hidden at that time. During that trip, Rika had never encountered the two of them standing next to each other or even in the same area.

"Alright! Where shall I set up the tents?" asked Maebara Ichirou who was carrying a box on his shoulder as he observed the landscape.

Mion pointed to the area around the small pit used for campfires. "Please set them up around there," she instructed him before turning to the club members. "I hope you all remember who your partners are! You can choose whichever tent you like. They're all different colors so you don't forget which one is yours."

Ichirou instantly went to work on setting up the four tents while the eight children sat around the pit. Two people sat on each of the rather uncomfortable wooden logs as they discussed various stories.

"Mii took me camping here many years ago with Shii," Rika told the group, "but I didn't know that Shii existed at the time. Sometimes I would talk with who I thought to be Mii and she wouldn't remember our previous conversation. I thought she was weird for that."

Mion laughed at the memory. "Oh yeah! I remember that! Shion and I played a bunch of mean tricks on you too. We'd tell you that if you could catch me we'd buy you anything you wanted and you would never be able to catch us!" she reminisced.

Shion sat next to Mion on the wooden log as she chomped on some trail mix. "Oh yeah, I remember that. Onee and I had a blast tricking you," she said with her mouth still full of trail mix. She finished chewing what was currently in her mouth and then tossed some more in the air and attempted to catch it in her mouth. Her attempts to do so were a complete failure as the pieces of trail mix fell on top of Keiichi's head.

"Hey Shion! You failed horribly!" yelled Keiichi in a rage as he brushed off the trail mix on his brown hair.

Shion waved her hand dismissively at the brown-haired boy who was acting rather immature. "Thank you for informing of my epic failure of which I am already aware of," she replied sarcastically. Shion once again dunked her hand in the bag of trail mix and fished around in it causing the bag to make annoyingly loud crackling sounds.

Rena dove into the backpack Shion was carrying and searched around for a snack she could eat. After a few moments, Rena's eyes suddenly lit up as she held the opening of the bag apart. "Hau! This snack is adorable!" Rena declared as she pulled out a bunch of crackers shaped like animals. She quickly tore of the top of the package and pulled out the various crackers. "This one is shaped like a bunny! Rena's favorite animals are bunnies! Hauuu!" she cried out as she held up a cracker shaped like a baby bunny.

Satoko blinked at Rena. "My my, that looks delicious! Can I have some, Rena-san?" she asked. The blonde-haired girl held her hands out expectantly and looked up at the older girl with a hopeful expression. The only thing Satoko received, however, was a punch to the face that sent the poor girl flying cross the campgrounds.

"Hau! Satoko-chan cannot eat the animal crackers! The animal crackers are too cute to be eaten!" yelled Rena as she hugged the box of crackers to her chest protectively with an expression on her face that made her look as if Satoko's acts were a threat to her.

Hisao ducked down instantly as Satoko went flying over him and crashed into one of the nearby trees. All eyes except for Rena's focused on the blonde-haired girl who was now laying slumped against the tree with her purple eyes spiraling.

Things suddenly got a lot more violent as Mion yelled, "whoever gets the box of animal-shaped crackers from Rena wins!" Everyone besides Hisao, Satoko, and Etsuko then tackled Rena to the floor and attempted to grasp at the tiny box Rena was holding in her hand. Rena immediately panicked and held the box as far away from the club members as she could.

"Hau! Stop trying to steal the cute animals away from Rena!" Rena begged as she was crushed under the weight of all the club members on top of her.

Mion struggled to reach for the tiny box Rena was clutching with great power while at the same time trying to shove Rika off from on top of her legs. No one was really being careful with each other as the war for Rena's box of crackers raged on. Keiichi almost toppled over as he stretched out his hand to grab the animal-shaped crackers. In order to gain more support, he instinctively put his hand down on something and grabbed it to keep his balance. Unfortunately for him, he didn't know that that something was Mion's right breast.

"Gyah!" Mion cried out when she felt Keiichi's hand grab her large breast. "Kei-chan, your hand!" she yelled to him. Her words were lost under the loud protest of Rena and did not reach Keiichi.

Finally, Keiichi managed to grab the box away from Rena. "I got the box!" he declared loudly. As he did so, all movement and struggle stopped.

"Mii… Keiichi wins," murmured Rena disappointedly.

Shion's eyes drifted over to her sister and she bit her lip to suppress a laugh when she noticed where Keiichi's hand that was not holding the box was resting. Her attempts to do so were futile as she let out a hysterical laugh.

"Shut up, Shion!" snapped a very red-faced Mion who instantly knew why her sister was laughing.

Keiichi looked confused. "Hey, why are you laughing, Shion?" he asked. He was so focused on the box in his hands that he didn't notice what was in his _other_ hand.

Rika let out a small gasp and covered her mouth with her tiny hand as she too realized why Shion was laughing. "Keiichi is a huge pervert!" she cried out in alarm.

"I don't get it!" Keiichi yelled to a still laughing Shion. "What's so funny?"

Shion continued to laugh harder and harder by the second. "Your hand!" she managed to say in between her wild laughter.

Keiichi glanced at his hand holding the small red box. "My hand is holding a box of animal-shaped crackers, meaning I win!" he said, confused. His eyes suddenly lit up with another realization. "Oh, so are you laughing because you thought I'd never win?" he guessed. "Well you're wrong! I, Maebara Keiichi, have won this war!" he declared with great pride so that the whole camp could hear him.

To his surprise, Shion's laugher did not cease. "No no, not _that _hand! I meant your _other_ hand!" she explained as she held back more laughs.

The realization suddenly hit Keiichi. His eyes slowly began to travel down the length of his arm to his other hand. His face turned a bright red when he saw his other hand firmly grasping onto Mion's breast. He was too stunned to make any movements from his utter shock and did not remove his hand.

"K-Kei-chan? C-Can you possibly remove your hand from my breast?" requested Mion whose face was of an equal shade of red. Keiichi nodded and took his other hand away. This caused him to lose his support and he ended up crashing face first straight into her chest.

Shion, who had finally managed to stop laughing, started up again. "Gahaha! Kei-chan is a super pervert!" she said as she pointed to Keiichi whose face was crushed between Mion's large breasts.

Keiichi pushed himself off of her with his arms and began to chase the hooting Shion around the campgrounds much like he chased usually Satoko with a red face. Mion lay on the ground without moving, her face covered with a blush.

Etsuko watched this scene with a shake of her head as Hisao hid behind her back, scared from the previous commotion. Satoko had just regained her composure when she saw Shion run right by her with a smirk on her face and Keiichi on her tail. Satoko pulled out a few small bombs from the pocket on her shorts and threw them at the two club members in attempt to stop Keiichi right in his tracks. Pink smoke emitted out of the bombs as they hit the grassy ground. Keiichi paused to cover his eyes from the smoke while Shion sped away as fast as she could.

Once the smoke cleared and Keiichi had given up on his attempt to strangle Shion, he walked over to Rena and handed her the box of animal-shaped crackers. "Here you go, Rena."

Rena looked surprised as she stared at the box that she now held in her hands. "You're giving it back to Rena?" she said.

Keiichi nodded and ruffled Rena's orange hair. "Yeah. I wasn't planning on taking it away from you or anything. I just wanted to join in on the fun and win something for once," he spoke to her with a grin.

Rena held the small red box containing the proclaimed cute crackers to her chest happily. "Thank you, Keiichi-kun," she said with an ever so slight blush that Mion caught instantly. The green-haired girl subconsciously bawled her hands in fists when she saw Rena's slightly pink face and let out a small growl.

Keiichi blushed when he turned around and saw Mion still lying on the ground. He walked over to her and bent down, offering his hand to her. "I'm sorry, Mion," he apologized as he tried to avoid eye contact. "I swear I didn't mean to…"

Mion took his warm hand in hers as he helped her stand up on two feet. "No, it's okay Kei-chan. I know you didn't mean it," she murmured, her green eyes glancing away from his blue ones. He nervously kicked a few stones lying in the dusty ground as he tried to hide his blush.

"Okay, I'm all done here!" declared Ichirou as he marveled at the pink tent he had just set up. "This one is the last one! Now I do believe you guys just have to find your tents and unpack your stuff!"

They all nodded and sped off to claim their tents. "Rika and I will take the blue one!" Satoko decided as she ran into the blue tent with Rika following her.

"Shion and I want the green one!" Mion cried as she grabbed an unwilling Shion by the wrist and wandered into the tent.

"Hau! The pink one is the cutest! Rena calls she gets the pink one!" Rena yelled loudly before galloping into the tent carrying all her belongings. Keiichi glanced to Hisao. That left the two of them with the yellow tent.

"Well, let's go unpack our things," Keiichi said to Hisao, who was currently considering the idea of hiding under a rock.

~~~X~~~

It was late at night when Mion and Shion had finished setting up their things in their tent. They had sprawled out two dark green sleeping bags on the floor and placed an oil lamp in between them. Shion had thrown some of her manga on top of her sleeping bag and was now reading one in her nightclothes as she lay bored. Mion, on the other hand, was going through the various games she had stuffed in the bag. She was currently clad in her nightclothes and had her hair down.

"Hey Shion, wanna play cards?" Mion asked as she turned away from her backpack and to her sister.

Shion shook her head as she continued to read the manga she was holding. "No, I'm reading this manga right now. Maybe you can go play with Kei-chan or something," she suggested as she turned the page.

Mion sighed and collapsed onto her fluffy sleeping bag. She began to play with the sheets of the sleeping bag as she contemplated the events that had happened that day. She recalled the conversation Keiichi had had with his father at the beginning of the day with a sigh. The very memory of it had been bothering her all day. She grasped the top of the sleeping bag tightly as she remembered how Keiichi had claimed that he did not like anyone. Then, she remembered how Keiichi had kindly handed the box of animal-shaped crackers to Rena and patted her head. Rena had blushed when he had done so. _Rena likes him… I just know it! And with her behavior… He might even fall for her._

Rena had a cute face and an overall adorable personality. She was girly and knew how to act like a girl unlike Mion. Mion didn't know how to act like a girl and was often classified as a tomboy. _You don't have a chance, give up, _she told herself.

Then she thought about when Keiichi offered to take the heavy box from her and then did so without a problem. Keiichi had always been kind to her and fun to be with. Before Keiichi had moved in, it was rather boring. Satoshi had disappeared, Satoko was still trying to get over the shock, and club games were never competitive. When Mion had founded the club, she was absolutely terrible at the club games and always lost. However, during the time Satoshi was still there, she had grown strong and learned how to win. So after he disappeared, she would win without much effort. Satoko eventually healed up and regained her competitive spirit but she would always win anyways. Of course they were competitive, but what she really needed was a rival. So when Keiichi moved in and joined the clubs, games instantly became more interesting. Of course, Keiichi started out like Mion. He was awful at the first games he played. Slowly, however, he gained the ability to win and his skills at most games began to rival Mion's. He cheered the whole club up. The arrival of Keiichi had given her a rival, a best friend, and someone she loved.

As she thought more about him, she began to cry a little. She was a tomboy and she would never be able to have him as a romantic partner. The very thought of him was tantalizing to her. She could look at him and marvel his handsomeness but she could not have him for herself.

"Onee, this guy in this manga is being really stupid. He-" Shion began to say before she noticed the tears that came from Mion's green eyes. "Onee?" she said as she scooted herself over to Mion's sleeping bag. Her twin buried her face into the soft covers of her sleeping bag as she tried to hide her tears. Shion reached out one of her hands and slowly touched her sister gently on the shoulder. "Hey Onee, what's wrong?"

"I can't take it anymore, Shion!" cried Mion's muffled voice as her grip on the sheets became even tighter.

Shion blinked a few times as she nudged her sister slightly. "Can't take what anymore, Onee?"

Tears began to stain the soft covers of Mion's sleeping bag. "Oh you know what I'm talking about Onee! I'm just some stupid girl who can't even get over her own feelings for a guy who won't ever like her!" she yelled.

Shion pulled her identical twin up and looked at her straight in the eyes. She was crying hard and her eyes were slightly red. As she realized how hurt Mion was, Shion's arms wrapped tightly around her sister as she pulled her close to her body to comfort her. "It's okay, On-… Mion. I'm sure he likes you too. Guys can just be stubborn at times," she told her softly.

Mion shook her head stubbornly. "No! He doesn't! He doesn't like me… he said he didn't like anyone! And besides, I bet he secretly likes Rena!" she yelled.

The younger green-haired girl pulled her sister even closer and her embrace tightened. "No. You know that's not true. I bet he loves you too. You know how Kei-chan is… he's so stupid at times," she muttered as she stroked her sister's long green hair.

"You saw how he was acting towards Rena! He was patting her head and she blushed! What if Rena likes her too, Shion? I'm sure she does!" cried Mion. Shion shifted her sister's position so that she could cry into her shoulder. She then leaned her head against her sister's and continued to stroke her hair.

"C'mon Mion. Let's think positive. There's a chance," she said.

"But Rena has a chance, too! Don't you understand? I'm inferior to her in looks! She's a cute girly girl and can act like it! I don't know how to be girly, Shion. I'm just a stupid tomboy," the older green-haired twin yelled.

Shion moved her sister again so that they were looking into each other's eyes. "Mion, do you think I'm beautiful?" Shion asked.

Mion felt slightly confused at Shion's sudden and rather irrelevant question. "Of course you're beautiful, Shion," she answered sounding slightly broken.

Shion smiled warmly at her response. "Then why are you crying? We're identical twins. We're the same, aren't we? So if I'm beautiful, that means you're beautiful too," she spoke as she stared into her twin's identical green eyes.

"But Shion! I have that ugly… _thing_ on my back…" Mion muttered. Shion frowned at the mention of the demonic tattoo that was on Mion's back. That stupid, stupid, tattoo. The very thing that separated Mion and Shion from each other when they were little and caused unhappiness between the two of them.

"Mion… if he really loves you, then he won't care about the tattoo. Besides, your hair covers it completely when it's down like this," she told her as she glanced wearily at her sister's back. Her nightclothes currently covered her tattoo so Shion obviously couldn't see it. However, Shion had seen her sister's tattoo many times before and knew that it was possible to cover it up with her hair to prevent it from being seen.

Mion didn't respond and instead hugged Shion back tightly. At times like this, it was always comforting just to be with her sister. Shion nudged her sister slightly as she began to speak, "I swear, Mion, if he does anything to hurt you… I will never forgive him," she murmured softly. Mion nodded slightly and clutched onto her sister for warmth. Shion smiled and ran her fingers through her sister's emerald green hair. "Hey Mion, it's getting a little late. Let's sleep," she suggested. Mion didn't move. Shion waited a few moments for any kind of response from her sister but received absolutely none. "All right… let's just stay like this for a while, then," she murmured as she leaned her head on her sister's and closed her green eyes.

~~~X~~~

The loud cries of the Higurashi cicadas indicated morning on the campgrounds. Keiichi had fallen asleep rather late that night and had yet to fully wake up. He walked outside the tent and began to wander around the campground without a destination in mind. "Gotta wake up," he muttered to himself.

The next thing that greeted him in the early morning was Shion's figure striding right up to him. "Ah, hello Shion. Is anyone else awake?" he asked as he rubbed his eyes. Suddenly, he noticed that she looked _extremely_ angry for some reason Keiichi could not point out. "Huh, Shion? What's wrong?" he asked. Shion did not respond to him using words. Instead, she responded by slapping him right across the face.

"You stupid bastard! Do you realize how much of an idiot you are?" she yelled at him as Keiichi rubbed his red cheek.

"W-Wait Shion-!"

"No waits! You're a stupid idiot! Grow up and learn to understand other people's feelings, you fucking piece of shit!" she snapped at him before storming off back to her tent in a rage.

Keiichi stood there with wide eyes, rubbing his sore cheek in shock. _Did I do something wrong?_ He wondered. _Did I hurt someone? _Keiichi grew worried at the thought. _I did something to upset Shion… but what?_

He looked up at the sun rising in the sky. "Damn, Keiichi. You're an idiot for whatever you did. Especially since you don't know _what_ you did," he scolded himself. Now, he had a guilt growing in his stomach. Shion was clearly angry at him, but for what reason?

_Damn. I must be an idiot…_

~~~X~~~

** Crimso's Corner**

**Thank you all for reading **_**Green-eyed Demon **_**up to this point! I also want to thank everyone once again for the reviews. I love you all. Seriously. I wouldn't be able to write without you!**

**Okay, so that chapter didn't take too long seeing as how I started this one a little early. And now it's going to take forever to upload because of FF having issues. It seems you guys are having them too, huh?  
It's fun to write these chapters while listening to Higurashi music. I'm really glad that they made those image songs and such. Yes, I hate Studio DEEN for cutting down Higurashi, but I'm really glad they made these image songs. Actually, Mion&Shion's songs came on when I was writing the scene with Mion and Shion in the tent. Though don't you guys hate it when one side of your earphones breaks? My earphones keep getting crushed by my laptop falling off my bed.**

**Please, please,**_** please**_** tell me that Keiichi isn't coming off as some kind of jerk. I feel like he really did in this chapter and I kind of don't want that. I think the next chapter should fix that up nicely if he did (hehe, sort of a spoiler?). **

**Um… what was I going to say here?**

**Oh yeah. Next chapter shouldn't take **_**too **_**long I don't think.**

**Damn, I hope this uploads. Oh well. If it doesn't, I hope it won't take too long. -kicks FF-  
~Crimso.**


	10. Chapter 9: The Hunt

**CRIMSO HEEEEEEEERE! I'm bored out of my mind right now. I think I should go to bed… but I'm way too nervous/upset to go to bed (don't ask). My head kind of hurts in a way, too…**

**I hope you all like the fanfiction so far. I've been trying my best. **

**So yeah…. Enjoy this chapter for me!**

~~~X~~~

A groggy Mion woke up to the unpleasant sensation of the sun's bright rays shining directly into her emerald eyes. She tried to gather the events from last night combined with what was currently going on around her. The first thing that she noticed was the absence of Shion's presence. The night before she had fallen asleep cuddled up with her sister for sure. She placed her hand down on the ground and shakily stood up, looking around the tent as she did so. "Shion?" she called. There was no answer. Mion threw all the covers in the air to see if her sister was perhaps buried beneath them.

When she couldn't find her, she sped outside after changing into her regular outfit. The dirt covering the ground below her flew behind her as she rushed to the center of the camp. "Shion? Where did you go?" she called once again.

No one was there save for a rather worried looking Keiichi holding his sore cheek in his palm. "Huh, Kei-chan?" Mion said when she noticed the boy.

Keiichi turned his gaze from the ground to the green-haired female standing a few feet away from him. "Oh, hey Mion," he managed to murmur before looking back down at the ground.

Mion blinked at his strange behavior. He was clearly upset about something. Slowly, she walked over to the brown log he was sitting on and sat right next to him. "Hey Kei-chan, is there something wrong?" she asked with worry shining in her eyes.

Keiichi kicked some dirt and sent it flying into the air in a cloud. "Nah. I'm fine, Mion. Don't worry about me," he said with a fake smile.

The green-haired female was not convinced. Her expression turned grim and she looked down at the ground as well. "Hey Kei-chan, don't lie to me. I can tell something's bothering you and… well, as the club leader, I need to make sure everyone's having fun on this trip… that's why I organized it, remember? To raise everyone's spirits and make them feel better after Hanyuu left us," she said as she drew random patterns in the brown dirt with her finger.

Keiichi's expression turned grim as his bangs covered his eyes. "…I have the feeling I did something wrong to hurt someone. Just a feeling… nothing to be concerned about, really," he admitted. He decided not to tell her about how he had gotten slapped by Shion early that morning. He didn't want her to get mad at Shion or anything like that.

"Why do you think that?" Mion asked him curiously. _Well, I suppose he did sort of… hurt me. But it's not even his fault!_

"No reason. Like I said before, it's just kind of a feeling I have," Keiichi responded as he too began to draw in the dirt.

Mion began to draw a picture of a cat in the dirt. It was the first thing that came to her mind. Mion wasn't too great of an artist, but for some reason she was rather good at drawing cats. This was probably because Rika had a huge obsession with kittens when she was little and would always ask Mion to draw pictures of them. Keiichi noticed this and began to draw a cat with stripes next to Mion's cat. After she had finished drawing the cat, she drew a small kitten in between the two cats. "Haha, it's like they're a family," Keiichi commented with a smile on his face.

Mion nodded. "That's the mom," she said as she pointed to the older cat she had drawn before.

"Then I guess that's the dad?" Keiichi said as he stared at the drawing he had made. He wasn't much of an artist either though he wasn't particularly bad.

"Yeah, and that's the daughter cat!" Mion added, gesturing to the miniature kitten positioned in between the parent cats.

Keiichi looked at the drawing once more and began to grin, showing his shiny white teeth. Then, he laughed at their childish behavior. "We're acting like a bunch of little kids, aren't we?" he spoke as he returned his gaze to Mion's face.

Mion laughed along with the brown-haired boy and bobbed her head. "Yeah! But it certainly is fun to act like a kid every once in a while. You know, reconnect with your little self," she said. She felt butterflies swirl in her stomach when she took sight of Keiichi's grin and her face turned a slight pink.

"My younger self was a stupid little bastard! I acted like such a weirdo!" Keiichi said as he chuckled at the thought of his younger self. Of course, he was thinking much further back than Mion was. When he was in middle school, he was often teased and made fun of by the other kids. Those years had been rather unpleasant for him. At first, he had struggled with his grades and was finding the school he went to difficult. Keiichi eventually transferred out of that school and went to a school for more gifted people. At that school, he worked extremely hard and was soon at the top of every subject. Unfortunately, this came at a price. His classmates grew jealous of him quickly and began to bully him. At that time, the words of his classmates didn't matter to him. The praises that he received from his parents and teachers were enough to suffice. He soon began to grow bored of school and getting good grades and the toy gun incident happened. Hinamizawa had taught him the need to have friendship and strong bonds with people his age. Now that he looked back to that, he realized how much he had been missing out on.

"Really? I bet you weren't nearly as bratty as me!" challenged Mion with a hearty laugh. Mion could still remember her days as a child well. She and Shion had faced a rather tough childhood. During the Dam war, Mion was quite the delinquent. When she was around eleven, she was arrested several times for violence but was let off easy since she _was_ only a child.

"Haha, I wish I was in Hinamizawa back then," Keiichi said as he looked up at the azure sky. "Maybe I'd feel more like… more like I was a part of the village," he murmured forlornly.

The green-haired girl was taken aback by his sudden comment. "What did you just say, Kei-chan?" she asked in disbelief.

Keiichi sighed and moved his legs away from the dirt ground to the log. He embraced his knees and buried his head into them. "I've always felt like... I've never truly been a part of Hinamizawa. Sure, I helped save Rika from a terrible fate. But I wasn't there for the Dam War or for the years of Oyashiro-sama's curse. From what you've told me, Mion, it seems like the Dam War was a huge part of Hinamizawa history. The whole village united as one to drive away the enemy. It's a memory that all Hinamizawa citizens remember. But," he began to explain before pausing. He took a few moments to hide his head further into his knees, ashamed. "I wasn't there, Mion."

Mion wasn't sure how to respond to her friend at first. How did she not notice? As the club leader, she was supposed to make sure everyone was happy and to protect all of her members. _I'm such an idiot. I didn't even notice that he felt that way before. _Mion thought back to how Hanyuu had been hiding the fact that she was leaving back to her hometown for a long time. Had all her friends been this broken on the inside and had she just not noticed it before? "Kei-chan… the Dam War was so long ago. You don't… you don't need have been there to be a part of Hinamizawa. Have you forgotten? Rena wasn't there either," she spoke to him softy as she slowly inched closer to him.

Still, Keiichi did not move nor did his expression change. "Rena lived in Hinamizawa when she was little. I transferred in as an outside a year ago," he pointed out. "Everyone in the club besides me was born in Hinamizawa. You, Shion, Rena, Satoko, and Rika," he listed, his tone of voice still low-pitched.

Mion hesitantly touched his shoulder. "Kei-chan, you've done so much for the club. Everyone thinks that you're an irreplaceable member. Please don't feel this way," she begged him. Keiichi remained as still as a rock.

"Is that so," he muttered.

A slight feeling of frustration began to rise up in Mion's stomach. "Yes! It's true!" she yelled at him, sounding upset. "Do you want me to tell you everything you've done for us? Because I will!" she spoke in the same tone. "First of all, you've made Satoko feel like she has her Nii-Nii back! You've filled that gap in her heart that Satoshi left with his disappearance! Not only that, but you saved Rika-chan from being killed by Takano and the Yamainu, remember? Without you, we couldn't have ever done it. Rika even said that herself!" she told him rather loudly. Keiichi opened his mouth slightly to let the fresh air fill it but made no other movements. "Rena said that you really helped heal her after the whole incident in Ibaraki! Don't you understand? We all need you!" she shouted even louder than before.

Keiichi's head slowly rose from his knees. "Are you sure about that, Mion? Do they really consider me to be a part of Hinamizawa?" he asked, unsure.

"Of course they really do! Where did you get all this nonsense into your head?" she snapped, more frustrated and upset than she was angry.

Keiichi thought back to the beginning of the day when Shion had slapped him across the face. "Mion, what's up with Shion?" he asked her suddenly.

Mion's face turned confused at the mention of her identical twin sister. "Did Shion say something weird to you or something? Just ignore it," she responded with slight worry that Shion had gone and did something rash.

He nodded in response. He didn't want her to get concerned about Shion's outbreak this morning or even angry with her. This trip was to heal their hearts after Hanyuu busted a hole in them after her departure. He knew that when siblings fought, it could get rather ugly quickly. He'd rather not witness a huge fight between the twins during such an event. Of course, that did not mean he wasn't still worried about having hurt someone. For some reason, he felt as if he had experienced a similar situation before. "Then, Mion, what about you?" he asked.

A thousand different things rose up in Mion's head at the same time. What was she going to say? Several thoughts were romantic while others were of friendship. "Well, Kei-chan… I know I've told you this many times before but… you've changed everything for me. Hinamizawa was a rather lonely place before you came. Satoko still hadn't recovered a hundred percent from the loss of her older brother, Rena was still a little shy around people and often didn't try too hard in the club activities, and Rika was always acting a little depressed and impatient for some reason. She always spoke about a man coming to Hinamizawa to change us all and to chase away the unhappiness the past years of Oyashiro-sama's curse and the Dam War left on us. When Shion left for boarding school around two or three years ago I got really lonely. No one was there for me except for Satoshi, Satoko, and Rika. Of course, Rika and Satoko were still very young and Satoshi was rather shy in a way. I guess you can say he didn't have quite the competitive spirit. Rena eventually moved in but that didn't make the club any more competitive. But when you moved in, Kei-chan, everything changed. _Everything _changed. The spirit of the club was raised as well as the competitiveness. You're my best friend, Kei-chan… you're the best friend I could ever ask for. So please don't feel like this," she spoke with more worry in her eyes. Keiichi's arms remained wrapped tightly to his legs and his head lowered itself slightly.

"Do you really mean that, Mion?" he muttered.

More frustration arose in Mion as she stood up from the bench and whipped around. "I mean it!" she yelled at him. But Keiichi still seemed depressed for some reason. In a mixture of many emotions, Mion suddenly embraced Keiichi's back tightly. The male's blue eyes widened at her sudden actions and be began to feel a little nervous and embarrassed at the feel of her chest pressing against his back.

"M-Mion?" he stuttered as his eyes focused away from his legs and in on Mion who was currently burying her head into his back.

"Please don't think that way, please," she begged as her grip on him became firmer.

Keiichi was at a loss for words at the green-haired girl's sudden actions. Shion's words of scolding echoed in is head as he stared in shock at the female holding him tightly. _"Grow up and learn to understand other people's feelings, you fucking piece of shit!" _that angry voice belonging to Shion repeated endlessly in his head. _Did I hurt Mion? But how… how did I hurt Mion? _

A hint of déjà vu flashed in his mind. Something like this had happened before, hadn't it? But when did it happen and more importantly, _why_ did it happen? Where confusion once stood guilt was now filling. "Mion, I'm sorry for what I did to you. Whatever it was," he muttered as he looked down in shame.

"I-It's alright, Kei-chan. I forgive you. It's not even your fault," she murmured as she continued to press her head and chest further against the fabric of his crimson vest.

Keiichi felt his heart begin to beat fast when she moved closer to him. His face flushed a bright pink and his cheeks began to feel slightly hot. _What is this feeling?_ He wondered. As he once again glanced at the green-haired girl embracing him, he suddenly felt a strange instinct to protect her grow inside him. Without knowing what he was doing, Keiichi flipped himself around and wrapped his arms firmly around her back. He pulled her head close to his chest and began to stroke her emerald locks of hair.

Mion began to blush intensely. "Kei-chan?" she whispered, confused. She stood there without moving for a few moments as he held her closer. Mion subconsciously pressed her head into his firm and muscular chest and began to stroke it with her index finger. _He's really muscular _she thought.

Keiichi smiled at her actions. _She's so beautiful_ he marveled as he gazed into her emerald green eyes.

Mion pulled herself away from his chest and pressed her hands against it. She stared into his sapphire eyes for a few seconds without looking away or thinking about anything else. Perhaps she wasn't thinking, but Mion began to lean in and brought her lips dangerously close to Keiichi's. She began to draw closer to kiss him. Everything at that moment seemed absolutely perfect.

"Hey guys!" a voice suddenly screamed, causing Mion and Keiichi to pull away from each other before their lips made contact. "It's a nice morning, isn't it?" Etsuko, still clad her nightclothes, said as if she hadn't seen the two of them about to kiss.

"Oh, h-hey Etsuko!" Keiichi greeted with a slight stutter as he turned to look at the pink-haired girl standing in front of her tent. Mion pushed herself fully away from Keiichi as she turned to sit back down on the other side of the log.

Etsuko glanced at the green-haired girl for a moment before returning her gaze to the male sitting beside her. "Do you know what you guys be doing today?" she asked them both curiously.

"No, I don't," Keiichi responded as he blinked a few times in a slight confusion. "Mion, what is the club activity for today?" he asked without making any eye contact with the girl.

"C-Club Activities… um," she said. "Uh… w-we were gonna roast some marshmallows… and we were gonna have a scavenger hunt…" she managed to say over her embarrassment. Was the pink-haired girl _blind_? She was acting as if she did not just see the two of them about to kiss.

She placed her hands on her hips and stared at her blankly. "Oh, I see," she muttered in response. "I'm gonna wake Hisao up. Rena is getting changed right now so she kicked me out of the tent," she explained before running into the yellow tent that belonged to both Hisao and Keiichi.

The brown-haired male and the green-haired female didn't budge from their positions nor did they say anything to each other for several minutes. _What was up with that? _Mion thought to herself, _Gee. I was really acting on my own back there. It's better if I just forget that ever happened. _She glanced at Keiichi who was sitting there blankly and blushed slightly. "I-I'm going to go find Shion. See ya," Mion managed to say before getting up from the log.

"Y-Yeah. S-See ya," Keiichi responded as he watched her speed away.

~~~X~~~

Shion was sitting on a cool, gray rock in front of the clear stream rushing through the forest a little bit away from the campground. _Satoshi, when will you wake up?_ She thought as she dipped her finger into the cold water. She winced slightly from the shock of how freezing the water was compared to the river. In her mind she was picturing the face of her crush, Houjou Satoshi. He had gone missing two years ago after he was struck by level five Hinamizawa Syndrome and was put into a coma to prevent him from committing suicide by clawing his throat out. Shion was the only person in the club who would visit him at the clinic every month or so. Mion also knew of his whereabouts though only because Shion would explain her visits to Satoshi in detail whenever they happened. Now that Mion was in the stage of her life where she too was suffering from love issues, she had decided to keep her feelings for Satoshi to herself. It would be rude for her to bring him up when Mion was suffering.

"Shion, is that you?" called a voice Shion identified as Mion. She broke away from her thoughts as she whipped around to look at her twin appearing through the thick trees. "Ah, there you are! I was looking for you everywhere!" she said happily.

"Hey Onee!" greeted Shion with a smile on her face.

Mion broke away from a branch she had gotten her shirt stuck on and ran over to Shion. Shion scooted over so that Mion had some room to sit on the white rock as well. "Gee, what's up with you? Leaving so early," she muttered.

Shion fake laughed as she remembered slapping Keiichi across the face. After that incident, she had gone back in her tent and finished up the manga she was reading. "Yeah, um, I wanted to finish the manga I was reading. That's all really," she explained while she rubbed the back of her head.

Her twin blinked at her in confusion. "But Shion, you don't need to leave the tent to finish reading your manga," she pointed out.

"Um! Well, uh, I wanted go to search for a river to wash my face off after I tripped-" she lied. Mion raised an eyebrow at her sister's explanation.

"Wait, _when_ did you trip?" she asked.

Shion paused and faked another laugh. "I tripped before I went in the tent!" she explained.

Mion crossed her arms. Her sister was a _really_ bad liar. "Wait, what do you mean before you went in the tent? I thought you woke up to read manga?" she questioned her.

Shion hesitated. "Urm, I went to go wash my face in the river that morning because I couldn't wake up. You know how some people splash their face with water to wake themselves up? Yeah, like that!" she laughed. Of course, this whole story was a complete and utter lie. Shion hadn't tripped nor did she go to wash her face.

Mion coughed uncomfortably. "Um, Shion? You're an absolutely terrible liar," she said, easily seeing through Shion's rather terrible lies.

Shion stopped laughing and froze. "Uh, well the truth is complicated Mion! It would take me hours to explain! Yeah, that's it! You don't want to have to listen to my boring old story, now do you?" she spoke rather shakily.

The older green-haired twin sighed. "Listen Shion. Just tell me what's on your mind. I've bothered you with my problems so you can bother me if you want. I'll listen to whatever you have to say," she told her seriously.

Shion didn't say anything for a few moments. After all, she didn't want to talk about Satoshi with Mion. With Mion suffering with love issues herself, it would be rude to do so. Satoshi was a topic she never really brought up with Mion very often. First off, she didn't even see him that often. Every once in a while she'd come by the clinic to check up on him. Irie, the doctor there, often told her that the research on Hinamizawa Syndrome was still processing slowly and would take much, much longer before he could actually come up with a cure. Irie was all on his own for the syndrome's research at the moment. Takano, who had been working with him on finding the cure for Hinamizawa Syndrome, had been infected with the syndrome herself. Furthermore, her intentions were never good. She _had_ tried to kill Rika and demolish Hinamizawa after all. Second of all, she herself tried not to think about him often. Satoshi brought back some memories for her. These memories were both good and bad. She smiled whenever she thought about the time when Satoshi had first rescued her. However, she was also reminded of the time in which she had to tear off three of her fingernails. That memory led to the memory of almost strangling Mion.

"Oh, I'm just thinking about the past a little bit. That's all," she lied, hoping that this time it sounded more convincing than her failed attempt at lying a few moments before.

"Satoshi?" Mion said, startling Shion.

"H-How did you-" she spoke in shock of Mion's correct answer.

Mion sighed. "You're in love with him, Shion. And besides, it's quite obvious that you're thinking about him from the blush on your face," she pointed out.

Shion hadn't realized that she had been blushing. "Oh," was all she could say as she looked away from her sister and back at the stream. She dipped her bare toes in the cool stream and sloshed them around in the clear water as she went into deep thought.

Mion frowned at her sister's lack of response. "Shion, say something," she ordered her with a stern look on her face.

"I-I'm sorry. I thought it would be rude of me to bring up Satoshi while you're still having issues with Kei-chan," Shion admitted as she continued to rush her toes through the running water, ashamed.

Mion looked down and watched the ice-clear water as it cascaded down a miniature waterfall, around a foot or two high. "No, I understand that we're _both _having love issues," she responded nonchalantly. Suddenly, Mion's face erupted in a blush as she remembered what had happened between her and Keiichi early in the day. Or rather, what had been _about_ to happen. She shook off her blush and went back to her previous stern expression.

"I'd rather not talk about him," Shion said. "It's just that the manga I'm reading reminded me of my current situation with Satoshi. The guy was in a coma and the girl was waiting for him to wake up… but he never did," she muttered darkly as her green bangs covered her eyes.

Mion frowned at the last few words Shion had spoken. "Don't worry, Shion. He'll wake up one day. Definitely," she said with confidence.

Shion, however, looked unsure. "He's got a high level of Hinamizawa Syndrome, Onee. In fact, he's got the highest level possible. If he were to wake up without a proper cure, he would claw his throat out and die. Of course, that comes after any other horrible things he'd do to us. But that wouldn't even be his own fault. It's going to be forever until Director comes up with a perfect cure for Hinamizawa Syndrome. I'm not sure if he even will _ever_ be able to pull it off," she said, clearly worried about her crush.

Mion fiddled with a strand of her green hair as she spoke, "well, I'm not sure what to say Shion. Just stay positive."

Shion nodded. "And you do the same, Onee. Be positive about Kei-chan! You can do it!" she spoke, this time sounding cheery rather than upset. She gave her a thumbs up and a wink.

Mion smiled slightly. "Yeah. Let's just try to be positive, Onee. As best as we can," she said to her.

~~~X~~~

"ALL CLUB MEMBERS, ASSEMBLE!" yelled Mion as she stood in the direct center of the camp. Her words were spoken aloud to the world and echoed across the campgrounds. All the club members instantly gathered in front of her one by one as they heard the loud summoning of their club member.

A curious Rika looked up at the confident Mion. "Mii, what kind of game will we be playing today?" she asked her with a slight tilt of the head. Hanyuu stood behind Rika in her spiritual form, unable to be seen by anyone besides the blue-haired miko. She was wishing to herself that she could participate in the club activities though she knew it was all in vain.

"Au au! I wonder what Mion has in store for today!" cried Hanyuu out excitedly. Perhaps she could find a way to participate in some sort of way.

Mion placed her hands on her hips dramatically and stuck her chest out. "Today, we'll be having… a scavenger hunt!" she spoke loudly as she spun around. She then whipped out a piece of paper from her pocket and showed it to the club. "This is the list of things you need to find! Don't worry, I wrote it before we got here so I don't know where anything is," she told them loudly. "The teams will be… whoever your partner is in your tent! Rena and Keiichi will be paired with each other because Etsuko and Hisao are not an official part of the club. So that's Shion and I, Satoko and Rika, as well as Rena and Keiichi!"

Rena gave Keiichi a glance. "We will win for sure!" she said to her partner.

Keiichi nodded, psyched for the hunt. "Yeah! Rena, let's do our absolute best this time around! We will give all of them a huge challenge!" he said.

Hanyuu was dancing excitedly in the back of the group. "Au au! Scavenger Hunt! I can play too!" she sung in pure ecstasy as she leaped back and forth with joy.

Rika gave Hanyuu a smile. If they were just hunting to find things, then Hanyuu could easily give her and Satoko a hand by searching and reporting results to Rika.

"Here are your lists! All of them are the same," Mion said as she handed Rika and Keiichi a list of objects that they needed to find. She kept the last one for herself and allowed Shion to take a peek at the list. The green-haired girl opened up her backpack and placed three jars down on the ground. "This is a jar to put the objects in. Take one!" she ordered. The club members did so and snatched up a jar for each of their teams. Mion then slid her airsoft gun from its holster and held it high in the air. "When I shoot, that means go!" she told them.

At that moment, everything seemed to freeze as all club members waited in anticipation for the gunshot. Rika braced herself to run faster than the wind as soon as she heard the shot of the gun. Satoko did the same, wearing a look of competitiveness on her face. Keiichi gave his partner, Rena, a quick glance to ask if she was ready. She nodded and gave him a confident smile.

Mion pulled the trigger on the gun, causing it to fire and cause a slight banging noise to echo throughout the forest. "GO!" she yelled as she turned around and dashed towards the forest with Shion following her.

Rika, Satoko, Rena, and Keiichi all ran forward. "Wait a moment, guys!" Hanyuu yelled to all of them. Realization hit her hard when only Rika stopped running. "Oh yeah," she spoke sadly. She soon shook off the feeling of loneliness and reminded Rika, "you haven't even looked at the list, Rika."

"Satoko, Rena, Keiichi! You guys haven't checked the list yet!" yelled Rika to the three club members dashing ahead of her. They all stopped in their tracks and turned to look at her.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to look at the list!" Satoko realized as she went to join her teammate.

Rena gave Keiichi a look, which Keiichi then returned. "We'll be looking at the list as we go through the forest! See ya!" he told them before returning to running into the woods.

Satoko crossed her arms at Keiichi's words. "Do you think we should do the same, Rika?" she suggested as she gave the two teenagers a final glance before they disappeared into the thick trees.

Rika shook her head. "We have the advantage, so don't worry! We can do this, Satoko. We can win. Nipah~!" she beamed.

Satoko looked confused by her friend. "What do you mean we have the advantage?" she asked with her yellow eyebrow raised.

"Mii, I cannot explain, but we most certainly have the advantage!" Rika reassured her. "Let's just look at the list for now," she instructed before scanning down the list of items.

"These are really weird objects," Satoko commented as she read down the list. "A leaf, a stick, a live higurashi cicada, a pure black pebble from the stream, a bug that is not a higurashi cicada…" she read aloud.

Meanwhile, Rena and Keiichi were dashing in the woods collecting objects and placing them in the plastic jar. "Rena, do you know how to catch a higurashi cicada without killing it?" he asked.

Rena shook her head. "Nope! Rena doesn't know how to other than using a net. But I guess we'll figure out, right?" she said giving him a wink.

Keiichi nodded. "Yup! After all, I definitely cannot lose to the others!"

Rena grabbed a rather short stick and shoved it into the plastic jar before screwing the cap back on. "Okay, we need a leaf!" she told him.

Keiichi grabbed a leaf from the top of the tree. "Ha, these are really easy objects! What the hell was Mion thinking when she wrote this list?" he spoke Rena unscrewed the cap and allowed Keiichi to throw the leaf in the jar.

Rena looked back at the list. "Hau, some of these objects are back at the camp," she realized as she continued to scan the items.

Keiichi hit his forehead with his palm. "Damn! We should have listened to Rika-chan we she suggested that we stay behind and read the objects first!" he growled, annoyed with himself.

"It's okay, Keiichi-kun! Let's just collect all the items we need out in the woods first and then we can go back to the camp and get the items we need there!" Rena told him. "We can go grab a higurashi and a different bug first… the stream is close by so we can grab a pebble over there," she instructed him.

The brown-haired boy nodded at his partner. "Okay! Let's split up. Rena, you can grab one of the higurashi and I'll go get the pebble from the stream," he ordered. Rena nodded as Keiichi made his way over to the rushing stream.

There, he was greeted by the sight of a rather wet Shion and Mion, the both of the standing there with their arms crossed. "It's your fault we fell in the water, stupid Shion!" Mion yelled.

Shion shook her head. "No, it's your fault, Stupid Onee!" she accused as she pointed her finger at her twin sister.

Keiichi ignored the two of them as he waded in the water. _The bottom is mostly gray pebble… are there any black pebbles? _He thought as he separated the gray pebbles at the bottom of the stream. Unable to find any in that area, he decided to go elsewhere in the stream. As he approached the area where Shion and Mion were currently standing, he suddenly toppled over and fell face first into the stream.

"Hey, which one of you did that?" Keiichi yelled at the two sisters.

"What the hell, Kei-chan? We didn't do anything!" the two of them yelled at him in unison.

Keiichi then followed the steps he had taken to get to the point where he fell with his eyes. If he squinted, he could see a small trap set at the bottom of the stream to make people trip. "SATOKO!" he yelled out in realization. _Wait a moment, weren't Rika and Satoko back at camp? How the hell did they get the items at camp so fast AND come all the way over here?_

Shion glanced at the trap placed in the water. "Oh hey Onee, look! Satoko set up a trap. It wasn't my fault or your fault!" she told her as she pointed to the small trap.

Mion whipped around to look at the trap implanted in the pebbles. "Oh yeah! Let's get moving, Shion! That argument was pointless and only wasted time!" she told her sister. Shion nodded and the two of them ran off.

_What the heck, they already have the pebble?_ Keiichi thought before going back to looking through the gray pebbles. After what seemed like hours of searching to him, he finally came across a midnight black pebble lying underneath a pile of gray ones. He quickly snatched it up in his hand and ran back to the area he and Rena had last talked.

Sure enough, Rena was standing there with a higurashi cicada buzzing in the plastic jar. She had poked a few holes in the top of the jar so that the higurashi cicada could breath. After all, the requirements said that the cicada had to be alive for it to count.

"Alright, good! Let's go back to the camp and fetch a few things from there!" Keiichi yelled.

The two of them scurried back to the campgrounds as Rena read off the list. "A shirt, some ash from the campfire pit, a bag of pretzels, and a bottle of water."

"Easy enough! I'll grab one of my shirts and some ash from the campfire pit. You search through the bag of snacks and get some pretzels and a bottle of water," he ordered. "And Rena, please don't get distracted by whatever might be the snack bag," he muttered, remembering the incident with the animal-shaped crackers which ended up with him accidently groping Mion.

"Yes, sir!" Rena said as she bowed and ran off to the bag of snacks. Keiichi watched her carefully as he scooped up pile of black ash and dumped it into the jar. Rena was trying her best to ignore the various boxes of animal-shaped crackers with cute drawings of baby animals printed on the covers. "Um… pretzels. Got the last bag!" Rena announced as she held up a bag of salty pretzels.

Keiichi smiled. "Alright! Find the water and I'll go get my shirt!" he spoke before running off into the yellow tent.

Hisao and Etsuko jumped as he entered the tent. The two of them looked rather grim for some reason Keiichi could not point out. "Uh, hi?" Keiichi said awkwardly.

The two of them blinked at him and said nothing in response. Feeling strange about the situation, Keiichi backed out of the tent without grabbing a shirt. "Rena, go get one of your shirts please," he requested as he watched Rena place a plastic bottle of water down on the ground.

Rena looked confused, but she decided there was no time to ask about it and ran into her tent to grab one of her shirts. She came out a few seconds later, holding the shirt in her hand. "I'll carry it. I don't want my shirt to get dirty," she said, pointing to the pile of ash resting at the bottom of the plastic jar.

Keiichi nodded. "We have one last item, yes? Please read what it is!"

Rena picked up the list and began to read, "the last item is a red flag located in a secret spot. Good luck finding it. Signed, Mion."

The brown-haired boy placed his hands on his hips. "Hey, that's hardly fair! Mion is the one who hid the red flag so she knows where it is!"

Just then, Mion and Shion came out of their tent holding one of Mion's shirts. "Okay, so now we gotta go get the red flag! Let's go, Shion!" Mion said to Shion as they ran off.

Rena glanced to Keiichi. "Keiichi-kun, let's follow them!" she said. The male nodded in response and began to track the two twins as they hurried off to who knows where. They stopped at a giant, rocky cliff towering many feet about them.

"It's in the tree up there!" Mion told Shion. "I'll climb up, you stay down here!" she ordered.

"I'll climb up as well. Rena, you stay here as well!" he told her before running up to the side of the cliff to scale it.

Mion caught sight of Keiichi and instantly blushed when she remembered their little interaction at the beginning of the day. "Kei-chan!" she yelled to him in shock. Keiichi turned to her when he heard her voice and looked at her straight in the eyes. He blushed as well, also remembering what had almost happened between the two of them. _No, Maebara Keiichi! She has probably forgot about it by now, so move on! After all, this is a competition and you can't lose!_

Mion's thoughts were exactly the same as Keiichi's as she began to scale the rocky cliff. She placed a hand shakily on one of the rock's edge and pulled herself upwards. Keiichi did the same, eyeing her carefully. "I'm not going to lose to you, Sonozaki!" Keiichi declared.

"Heh, we'll see about _that, _Kei-chan!" she challenged with a smirk as she pulled herself further up the mountain.

Keiichi growled as he too climbed upwards. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't thinking and accidently slipped on one rather narrow stone. He held onto the stone above him with both hands for dear life and cried out in panic. _Don't worry, Maebara Keiichi! You have this! _Ever so carefully, Keiichi reached out one of his hands and placed it on the rock above that one and hoisted himself upwards. He regained his footing on a rock slightly above the one he was standing on before. Mion, on the other hand, was having no trouble scaling the jagged cliff side. _Damn it, Maebara Keiichi! She's going to beat you… again!_

He had to think, fast. If he made it to the top last and grabbed it before Mion did, he would still win. As he noticed the green-haired girl getting dangerously close to the top, his heart beat faster. He urged himself to climb faster and in doing so sacrificed any carefulness he previously had.

"Kei-chan is going to fall," Shion commented as she cradled the jar she was carrying to her chest.

Rena shook his head at Shion. "No. Keiichi-kun isn't going to fall. He's quite rash, but he can do this. I believe in him," she said.

And surely enough, Keiichi found himself at the top of the cliff. "I MADE IT!" he yelled out to the world so that everyone could hear him. Mion cursed under her breath as she threw herself over the top.

"You beat me," she said, breathing heavily.

Keiichi stuck his chest out and placed his hands on his hips proudly. "Yes. Maebara Keiichi is the victor of this climbing race! And now, I will take the flag!" he said as he turned to the tree in front of him. As he reached for the bright red flag, he noticed something was strange. The flag wasn't even there.

"Wait, where's the flag?" he asked.

Mion looked at the tree as she got up on her two feet and brushed herself off. "That's odd. I put it right there."

"Hold on a moment… could it be?" Keiichi said as realization struck him.

An all too familiar shrill laugh sounded out. "Ohohohohoho! Forget about us?" Satoko said to the two of them as she proudly held the red flag up.

Rika gave the defeated green-haired girl and brown-haired boy one of her signature smiles. "Mii! We won this time! Nipah~!" she beamed.

Keiichi slapped himself on the forehead. "How could I forget about the two of you?" he growled to himself. "Wait… When the hell did you get up here?" he yelled at them suddenly with great rage in his voice.

"We walked around the cliff when you two were climbing up," Rika informed them, "it took about five minutes for us to reach the tree and take the flag."

Shion laughed when she heard the commotion at the top of the cliff. "Haha, Onee! You're always so competitive. I can't believe you didn't think of walking around the cliff!"

Mion whipped around to glare at Shion from the top. "How come you didn't tell me then, stupid Shion!" she yelled at her sister with great anger.

Shion simply smiled. "I didn't think of it either," she admitted.

Unknown to most of the club members, Hanyuu was busy doing a victory dance and song behind Rika and Satoko. "Au~ Au~ we win~! Au~ Au~ sweet victory!" she sung to the world as she twirled.

Rika gave her friend a smile. _I'm glad you can still enjoy yourself, Hanyuu. Perhaps this year won't be so bad after all,_ she though to herself as she turned back to the bright sun setting down on all seven of the club members.

Little did Rika know, the coming Watanagashi would be the bloodiest in the history of Hinamizawa and Onifaguchi.

~~~X~~~

**Crimso's Corner**

**Phew! I feel like that chapter took longer than usual for some reason. Of course, that's probably just mean since I AM the one who is writing it. **

**I feel really evil for the scene with Mion and Keiichi up there. Just so you know, during the scene where Mion and Keiichi were scaling the cliff, they both brushed off the memory of them almost kissing because they both thought that the other had forgotten about it… if that wasn't clear to you guys. I didn't do a very good job on that scene, I know :|.**

**Now I'm going to have to annoy FF until it lets me publish this chapter. I hope this is fixed soon. It's really annoying. Partially because I can't upload my chapters and partially because that means I can't read other people's new chapters until FF lets them upload it. Actually, is it still happening to you guys or is it just me?**

**A little bit of foreshadowing at the end there, simply because I felt like I should remind you all that this is still a horror fanfiction. **

**I think that the camping trip will last two more chapters or so. That's just my prediction though. Maybe it'll only last one and a half. I'm just going to have to write it up and see what happens.**

**Don't know when the next chapter will be. I might take a break from writing tomorrow and start on it the day after. I feel like my Spring Break is slipping by…**

**I can't believe I only have a week left! I mean, it went by waaay too fast. There's still so much I want to do. I plain to rewatch Higurashi but I also need to finish CLANNAD….**

**Have you guys heard about the new Higurashi OVA? I'm excited, even if it IS by DEEN. I don't care if it's just fan service; I'm watching it no matter what. Actually, apparently there are original arcs written by Ryu. I'm hoping for some Mion. **

**Okay, I think I'll end this Crimso's Corner here… it almost has taken up a page and a half so far. I need to stop being so talkative. Though it's technically writing…**

**Okay, I'll shut up for real now.**

**~Crimso**


	11. Chapter 10: Warning

**I honestly don't have much to say here besides that I'm really bored and I feel like writing. Maybe I shouldn't even have these things at the top.**

**Enjoy Chapter 10 (I think? ...Yeah. Chapter 10.)**

~~~X~~~

It was just before midnight in the area outside Hinamizawa. All the club members, as well as Etsuko and Hisao, were sitting around the brightly burning campfire. Three bags of marshmallows lay on the ground, only one having been opened with about half it's marshmallows remaining inside. Chocolate bars were scattered around next to the marshmallow bags and a box of graham crackers stood next to that. The club members were roasting fluffy white marshmallows on the fire. Or rather, they were attempting to.

"Argh! It caught fire again!" cried Keiichi as his marshmallow ignited with crackling orange flames. He ferociously blew on the burning marshmallow to no avail.

Hisao was carefully holding his stick just barely over the fire with trembling arms. He scooted backwards when the fire suddenly grew a little bigger, in fear of getting caught on fire himself. Slowly, he pulled his barely done marshmallow back and pulled it off the stick. He took a bite into the sticky white fluff and chewed on it.

Keiichi glanced at the younger boy. "Hey, how the heck did you manage to do that? Mine keeps getting set on fire!" he demanded. The black-haired boy got startled and covered his head with his arms instinctively.

"Please don't scare Hisao like that," Etsuko requested as she too ate a perfectly roasted marshmallow.

Shion started at a completely burnt marshmallow in her hands, completely coated with sugar that had turned black from the heat of the flame. She tore of the layer of burnt sugar and dangled the melted fluff over her mouth. She then licked the strand of fluff that was dripping down into her mouth.

Mion watched as her sister ate the marshmallow. "Damn Shion… that can't taste good, can it?" she muttered.

Shion finished her marshmallow fluff and wiped away the melted marshmallow that had gotten on her lips with the back of her hand. "It tastes sort of burnt, but it's good otherwise. You should try it, Onee. You too, Kei-chan," she spoke as she glanced towards Keiichi who was still struggling to roast one of the marshmallows.

Rika happily bit into one of her s'mores with a grin on her face. "It tastes perfect! The chocolate blends in so well with the marshmallow and the graham cracker! Nipah~!" she said as she chewed on the sticky treat.

Sitting next to Rika was Hanyuu, still invisible to everyone but the young miko. "Au au! It's not as good as a creampuff, but it will do!" the goddess commented as Rika gobbled down the s'more. Now that Hanyuu had gone back into spiritual form, she had the misfortune of having to taste everything that Rika did. This would normally be a good thing if Hanyuu weren't intolerant to spicy foods and wine. Rika would have a glass of wine every day and would usually punish Hanyuu by stuffing as much kimichi down her throat as she could. Now that Rika was eating something sweet, however, Hanyuu could enjoy this spiritual connection between her and the blue-haired girl.

"My my, it looks like little peasant over there is terrible at roasting marshmallows! How stupid of him! Ohohohohoho!" laughed Satoko as she held her marshmallow over the fire.

The brown-haired boy shot Satoko a glance at growled at her. "It's not like you're having any better luck than I am, Satoko!" he pointed out.

Satoko looked over to her marshmallow as it sizzled above the fire and began to burn. "Oh no!" Satoko cried out in alarm as she pulled it away from the fire and blew on it in attempt to extinguish it.

Shion laughed at the younger girl. "Satoko, perhaps you should be more careful," she suggested.

Satoko crossed her arms and pouted. "Well, it's not like I was paying attention to it. The stupid peasant over there distracted me! I bet you anything if he didn't, then that marshmallow would have been perfect!" she shouted, pointing over to the male who was still struggling on roasting the marshmallow he currently had on the brown stick he was holding. "Besides, the guy has been concentrating the whole time and STILL can't do it!"

Shion glanced to her sister, who was currently roasting a marshmallow with a golden brown hue to it. "That looks like it's about done, Onee," Shion told her.

Mion slid the sticky marshmallow off the stick and placed it between two graham crackers along with a piece of sweet milk chocolate. "There, all done!" Mion said happily before taking a bite into the s'more.

Keiichi growled as he watched Mion eat the sticky treat. "Damn, how the hell do you guys do it? I don't get it!" he yelled in frustration as yet another one of his marshmallows caught fire.

The younger green-haired girl sighed. "Kei-chan, if it's not working, just peel off the burnt skin and eat the fluff. It tastes good," she suggested to him.

The brown-haired boy tore the burnt marshmallow from the point of the stick and ripped off the burnt skin. The glob of marshmallow fluff stuck to his fingers almost instantly. "Gah! It won't come off!" he cried as he waved his hand around in attempt to get the goo off his hand.

"Um… Maebara-san… how about using a wipe from Shion-san's bag over there?" Hisao suggested nervously as he eyed Shion's bag, full off whatever supplies they'd need.

"Ohohohohoho! Keiichi-san is stupid as usual!" laughed Satoko for what seemed like the millionth time.

Keiichi growled at the blonde girl but said nothing as he snatched a wipe from Shion's backpack. He carefully began to clean off the marshmallow fluff from his fingers while murmuring a long list of curse words under his breath.

Mion sighed and shook her head at the brown-haired boy's behavior. "Gee, Kei-chan. You need to calm down. It's just roasting marshmallows! It's nothing you need to get yourself all worked up about. Just calm down and try again, alright?" she said to him as she handed him another fluffy white marshmallow from the bag on the ground.

Keiichi snatched up the marshmallow from the girl's hand and stuck it on the sharp stick, it's point coated with sticky fluff from many of Keiichi's failed attempts at roasting marshmallows. "Thank you for not mocking my inability to roast a marshmallow unlike a certain brat I know of, Mion," he said with a slight growl at the yellow-haired girl who was munching on what seemed to be her fourth or fifth s'more.

The older green-haired girl gave him a smile. "You're welcome, Kei-chan. Don't let Satoko's mocking get to you, by the way. She's just trying to have fun. It's not like she dislikes you or anything like that," she told him as she began to roast yet another marshmallow above the warm fire.

Keiichi sighed. "I know that, Mion. I just wish she'd be a LITTLE nicer to a person who is older than her and show a little respect for once," he muttered as the marshmallow he was roasting caught fire again.

Satoko bit her lip to suppress a laugh. After hearing Keiichi, she had felt a little bad about laughing at him and had decided to try her best not to laugh. Rika, on the other hand, giggled a little bit upon seeing the marshmallow go up in flames yet again. "Keiichi, it's not really that hard. Just be a little more carefully, okay?" she told him as she bit into the s'more she had just finished making. Hanyuu grinned as she tasted the sticky sensation of the s'more on her tongue, despite not even eating it herself.

"Do you need some help, Keiichi-kun?" asked Etsuko who had finished making her s'mores and had decided that she did not want anymore.

"Yes, that would be very nice, thank you Etsuko," Keiichi said with a sigh as he passed the stick with the marshmallow over to the pink-haired girl.

"It's simple. You're holding it too close to the fire. Hold it high above the fire, like this," she informed him as she demonstrated exactly what to do. The marshmallow was located just above the crackling flame and was being toasted only by the heat of the fire.

Keiichi sighed as he took the sharp stick with the marshmallow back from the pink-haired girl. "Thank you, Etsuko," he said with relief as he copied what she had demonstrated. Sure enough, the marshmallow did not catch fire and came out perfect.

"Oh look! The peasant made one right for once!" Satoko exclaimed in a slight shock, returning to her usual bratty attitude.

The brown-haired male whipped around to look at the yellow-haired girl sitting a few feet left of him. "Hey you, don't say anything anymore! You burnt a few marshmallows too, you know!" he yelled at her.

The girl sighed and shook her head. "I already explained, I burnt them when I was distracted by your rambling! It's not my fault or anything like that! It's all your fault, Keiichi-san!" she accused with her finger pointing at him.

Keiichi just barely managed to restrain himself from hitting the yellow-haired girl on the head with something sharp. "Yeah yeah, whatever you say Satoko," he dismissed her with a wave of the hand as he placed the warm marshmallow between two graham crumbling graham crackers and a piece of milk chocolate.

The twins were both finished with their s'mores and were now watching the others as they finished whatever they were eating. "Are we all good now? Shall we all get ready to go to bed?" asked Mion to all of the club members.

"Yeah, we're all done," all of them responded as they got up and walked back to their tent one by one.

Keiichi stomped back to his tent in a rage. He was annoyed at the fact that he had only managed to make one s'more and that was after everyone else had already had about four or five. He threw off his clothes and changed into new ones before he slid into his sleeping back. He doubted he could get any sleep after all that had happened that day, but it was worth a shot.

Hisao walked into the tent shortly afterwards. "U-Um, Maebara-san? C-Can you leave for a little? I want to talk to my sister about something… i-in private," he requested with his usually shaky tone.

The brown-haired boy stood up. "Sure. It wasn't like I was going to sleep for a while anyways," he said as he walked out of the tent. He went over to the logs and sat down on the one facing north. Across from him was Rena, who curiously was not in her tent at the moment despite being dressed in a nightgown.

"Hey Rena, what's up?" he asked, confused as to why she was sitting outside.

Rena glanced over to her tent before returning her gaze to the boy in front of her. "Etsu-chan was acting kind of funny, kind of funny. It was strange," she said in her normal high tone.

The male blinked a few times at the girl. "What do you mean by strange, Rena?" he asked her, slightly confused.

Rena looked down and kicked the dirt with her feet. "Well, it went something like this…"

**-FLASHBACK: Around ten minutes ago (or so)-**

_Rena walked into her tent with a sigh. She brushed away whatever stickiness was left from the many s'mores she had eaten that night. She changed into her nightclothes, a pink gown with a picture of a baby bunny on it like the animal-shaped cracker she had obsessed over yesterday. _

_ Just then, Etsuko walked into the tent with a sigh. The two of them had gotten to be rather good friends after last night where they spent the night chatting away about their lives. "Hey, Etsu-chan! How are you? I wonder, I wonder…" she asked her with her usual cute smile upon her face._

_ The pink-haired girl gave the other girl one of her own smiles. "Oh, I'm fine today. Roasting marshmallows with everyone was very fun. I think Hisao enjoyed it as well," she responded as she wiped off her hands with a wipe from Shion's bag._

_ "That's good to hear!" Rena spoke. She had felt a slight happiness at hearing that Hisao had had fun with the group. She had spoken to Hisao when he first transferred in and had shown him around the village. He was a nice guy, despite being so shy. _

_ Etsuko reached for her backpack and pulled out her folded yellow nightclothes from it. "Hey, Rena. May you leave the tent while I get changed?" she asked her without giving her any eye contact._

_ Rena titled her head. "Why does Rena have to leave the room? We're both girls, so I don't see why you have to be embarrassed," she spoke, her voice trailing off at the end slightly._

_ The pink-haired girl looked down and her expression grew dark. "I said, please leave the tent while I get changed," she requested again. Her tone seemed unfriendly and grim in a way to Rena. The orange-haired girl found this behavior rather strange._

_ "Okay, Rena will go. But why…?" she asked again, not moving from her position on her sleeping bag._

_ "I said," growled a rather enraged Etsuko, "leave the tent!" she ordered her._

_ Rena yelped and scurried out of the tent in shock and fear. The night seemed to have gotten even darker despite her not even being in the tent for even ten minutes. "What was that all about?" she wondered to herself aloud._

**-END FLASHBACK-**

Keiichi crossed his arms as he listened to Rena's rather strange story. "Well, that was certainly odd. Maybe she's just embarrassed because she doesn't know you very well?" he suggested.

"Maybe that's it, maybe that's it. But Rena thinks it's something else for some reason," Rena muttered as she looked at the shining stars.

The brown-haired boy shrugged. "I'll never quite understand her. She had a strange interest in the Furude Shrine when I showed her around Hinamizawa," he remembered.

"That's odd. So did Hisao," Rena told Keiichi.

"They're probably just curious because the Furude Shrine is so giant. I mean, it's the biggest shrine I've ever seen before," he guessed. After all, the Furude Shrine was the center of attention in Hinamizawa. It was the main location for the Watanagashi festival and was also worshipped by the many villagers, particularly the elders.

Rena nodded. "Yeah. Didn't you also think the Furude Shrine was really cool when you first saw it? Rena was impressed by it when she moved back to Hinamizawa since she had mostly forgotten…" she said with a slight regret when she mentioned that she had forgotten about the Furude Shrine's greatness. She had moved back to Hinamizawa after her mother and father got divorced. She believed that Oyashiro-sama was stalking her and punishing her for moving away from Hinamizawa. In fear, Rena moved back to Hinamizawa and all the fear went away from her in an instant. This, however, did not mean that Rena was still regretful of the whole incident. Every once in a while, she would mention to her friends about how bad she felt about moving away and abandoning Hinamizawa. It was a painful and serious subject for her.

"Yeah. I was shocked by how beautiful it was when I came here. I guess it's just normal behavior for them to take an interest in the Furude Shrine," Keiichi admitted as he flashbacked to his first tour of Hinamizawa.

Just then, Etsuko came wandering out of her tent and walked by Rena and Keiichi. After passing them, she suddenly froze in her tracks. "Hey, Rena, I'm going to have a little chat with my brother. You can head back inside the tent if you want… I'll be there soon," she told her while still having her back to both of the teenagers sitting on the logs.

Rena nodded. "Okay. Keiichi-kun, I'm going to go to the tent then. I'll see ya!" she said to him. She stood up, bowed to him, and then ran off to her tent.

"See ya, Rena," Keiichi said as he waved a goodbye to the orange-haired girl. The brown-haired boy sighed as he glanced up at the burning stars gleaming in the black sky. He didn't have anything to do now, and Etsuko and Hisao were busy having a private conversation in his tent so he couldn't go back to sleep. He considered the idea of going to one of his friends' tents to talk to them. He quickly shot that idea down when he had a mental image of walking into Mion and Shion's tent and accidently seeing them changing pop up in his head. He blushed a bright red at the idea and tried to shake the image out of his mind. "No no! That's just plain perverted, Maebara Keiichi!" he yelled at himself.

A shooting star blazed as it shot across the vast sky. The brown-haired boy's blue eyes caught sight of it and widened. _A shooting star?_ Keiichi thought while he gazed at the star as it continued it journey across the night sky. _I guess that means I should make a wish. _The boy clapped his hands together as he thought about what to wish for. _I wish… I wish to beat Mion at club activities tomorrow. _It was the first thing that he thought of. There really wasn't much he longed for besides finally being able to beat his rival, after all.

He sighed as the shooting star disappeared from his sight. "The night is really lonely," he spoke to no one. He looked around at the desolate night surrounding him and hugged his knees. _I hope someone comes soon…_

~~~X~~~

"I-I don't like what you're doing, Nee-chan…" Hisao told his sister sitting across from him. The two siblings were currently located in the tent belonging to both Hisao and Keiichi. Etsuko sat on her brother's sleepbag, rocking herself back and forth.

"I don't like what I'm doing either," she admitted, "but I have to. There's no way around it, Hisao."

The brown-haired boy was fiddling with a strand of his hair and looked rather nervous. "Are you sure, Nee-chan? Don't you think that we could-"

"I'm sure it's the only way," the pink-haired girl interrupted her younger brother. He shut his mouth and looked away, ashamed. "Don't worry about it, Hisao. I'll be able to do it," she assured her brother with a dismissive wave. "And that ends our talk. I'm going to head back to my tent," she told him, standing up and brushing off her gown.

"A-Alright, Nee-chan. Good night," muttered Hisao as he buried his whole body underneath the covers of his sleeping bag. It wasn't quite clear to the pink-haired girl if her brother was just sleepy or if he was trying to hide himself from her for any reason. He had a good reason to, but…

She shook that thought out of her head as she exited the tent and instantly spotted Keiichi sitting all alone in the dark. "Hey, Keiichi-kun. You can go back now," she told him.

Keiichi whipped around to look at her, breaking away from gazing at the stars above. "Oh. That's okay. I'm tired. Go back to your conversation with Hisao-san," he responded before turning back to look at the stars.

The pink-haired girl approached him and sat down next to him. "Nah, we're done for the day," she said. She followed the boy's gaze to the glimmering stars and watched them as well. They were really bright that night for some reason Etsuko couldn't point out.

"Why are you looking at the stars?" she asked him curiously.

"No reason," was the answer she got. "They're just kind of pretty tonight."

Etsuko nodded. "They're much brighter out here in the country, aren't they? Back in the city, the brightness of the stars was polluted by the lights of the many buildings. That's one thing I prefer here in Hinamizawa," she said as she too gazed at the stars.

"I prefer everything here in Hinamizawa," Keiichi admitted. "It's just such a refreshing village compared to the dirty old city."

Etsuko blinked at the boy and stared at him with her purple eyes. "Why did you decide to move to Hinamizawa, anyways?" she asked him.

Keiichi froze. Should he tell her about the incident with the toy gun and the little girl? She was technically his friend after all. But perhaps if he told her, she wouldn't want to talk to him anymore. "Oh, it's a long and boring story," he said, hoping it would give him a little more time to think and perhaps even hold off the pink-haired girl.

"Ah, I see," was all she said in response. Keiichi sighed with relief. He didn't want to have to go through the painful memories of accident shooting a little girl in the eye with a gun ever again. He wasn't the city boy Maebara Keiichi anymore. He was Maebara Keiichi, the Hinamizawa citizen.

"Hey, why did _you_ move here, anyways?" Keiichi asked her. It wasn't like anyone moved to an unknown rural town in Japan without a good reason. Keiichi had the incident with the toy gun and Rena had the whole thing with Oyashiro-sama. These were both rather horrifying stories to the two of them.

"Mother was worried that Hisao couldn't get along in the city. He was scared of how big it was," she told him. "The other kids thought he was weird too. They pretended to be his friend and then they turned on him for being too shy."

Keiichi raised one of his brown eyebrows at her strange story. "Just because Hisao couldn't get along in the city? That's kind of a strange reason to move over here," he commented, suspicious about the authenticity of her story.

"Yeah. That's basically it," she said nonchalantly as he stretched out her arms and her legs.

A moment of silence followed as Keiichi pondered what she had just said. That seemed like quite a strange reason to leave the city. There were many suspicions he had surrounding the story, but instead of questioning her he decided to brush them off and forget about it. "How are you liking Hinamizawa so far, Etsuko?" he asked her.

The pink-haired girl put her finger to her chin to think about what he had asked for a few moments. "Well… It's pretty cool… I guess. It's a change from being in the city. I guess it's nice being in a rural area," she said, sounding somewhat unsure and cautious for whatever reason.

Keiichi chuckled. "I know that feeling. I was rather surprised by how different things were when I moved here. But I'm used to it now and I like it a lot better than that old dirty city," he said. He winced as he pictured the city where he once resided in his mind. He never wanted to go back there, that was a fact he knew. If he ever had to, he swore that he would tear his own throat out even if the Hinamizawa Syndrome didn't infect him.

"Hisao is having a much easier time here. He had it hard in the city. I think that the calm countryside is something he really needs. I'm grateful for that," she spoke, gazing at the landscape that bordered the round campground.

"You really like your brother, don't you?" he commented. "Even though you do act a little rude to him at times," he then added, hoping that the pink-haired girl didn't take any offense from it. After all, it _was_ true.

Etsuko looked down at her bare feet, slightly dirtied by the soil that decorated the campground's surface. "Yeah. I feel as an older sibling that I have to protect him. Especially since…" she paused in the middle of her sentence. "Hey Keiichi-kun, can I tell you a secret? As long as you promise that you won't tell anyone else," she asked him cautiously.

The brown-haired boy was slightly surprised by the fact that the girl trusted him enough to tell him a secret even though he had just met her a few days ago. Then again, he was extremely close to all the club members just after he had moved in. "You don't have to if it's too personal. I won't tell anyone, though," he told her.

The pink-haired girl said nothing for a few moments. Keiichi assumed that she was most likely going over how to tell Keiichi about the secret she had without giving away any unnecessary details. Some things were meant never to be spoken of again, and the brown-haired knew that better than anyone else. "Well, when Hisao was around nine years old… he got hit in the head really hard and…" Etsuko stumbled over her words and was having a hard time trying to speak. The subject was most likely something very personal and hard for her to talk about. "He lost all his memories…" she finished, trying to hide her dark expression from the rather shocked brown-haired boy.

"_All_ of his memories?" Keiichi repeated, placing emphasis on the first word of the sentence.

She nodded sadly. "Yes, all of his memories. That's why he's so shy. I mean… how scary would it be if you woke up as a nine-year-old with absolutely no clue about the person you are or who your family is? He never quite got used to society after that," she spoke with pain trembling in her voice.

Keiichi thought about what she had just said for a moment. What if something like that had happened to him? He imagined waking up as a nine-year-old without any memories of his past or without even knowing his own name. How could he trust anyone around him? What if the people who would claim to be his own parents weren't actually related to him? What if they told him stories about his past that weren't even true? He could imagine being suspicious of everyone around him. Suddenly, with that thought, he was able to understand what the black-haired boy had to go through every day in life. Guilt washed throughout him for being so unsupportive of Hisao.

"I see what you're saying… it would be tough to continue throughout life without being suspicious or scared of anything," Keiichi muttered as he too stared at his feet. He gently brushed the soft ground with his toes in a sort of bored manner.

Etsuko nodded. "Thank you for understanding him, Keiichi-kun. But please try not to tell anyone else. It's a rather… hard subject for both him and I to talk about to other people so I'd prefer if they didn't know. I wanted to tell you since you're his tent partner," she requested with a kind of happiness filling up inside of her. However, this happiness was not completely pure; it was tainted with drops of unhappiness and ominousness.

"I swear, Etsuko, I won't tell a soul about this," he promised her with seriousness in his voice. He balled up his fists and stared directly at the pink-haired girl with his blue eyes. His eyes did not meat with the girl's purple ones as they were currently focused on the earth below.

"Thank you, Keiichi-kun," she whispered. "And thank you for listening to what I had to tell you. I think you should go to bed now. Hisao isn't comfortable by himself."

He nodded his head slowly. "You're welcome, Etsuko. I'm just glad I had someone to talk to. I was getting kind of lonely," he spoke to her before standing up from the rough and uncomfortable log. He couldn't hear any chattering coming from the other tents, which probably meant that Satoko, Rika, Mion, and Shion had already fallen into a deep slumber. Hisao and Rena might have been awake and not talking since no one else was with them. The very thought of curling up in his warm sleeping bag made Keiichi yawn loudly. He stumbled over to the yellow-colored tent and instantly fell down on his brown sleeping bag with a loud _thud. _Grumbling, he pulled the top over him and snuggled his head into his pillow. "Damn, so tired," he muttered. It was strange, he thought, how he had just been complaining about how he couldn't go to sleep even if he had tried now. Now here he was, as tired as a squirrel who had spent the whole day collecting food and longing for deep sleep. His wishes were soon granted as sleep claimed his body for the rest of that night.

~~~X~~~

The higurashi cicadas began to cry out in the early morning. No one was awake as the sun rose up, causing the sky to turn a bright pink and yellow. Mion stirred in her sleep, muttering a few things under her breath that one no one could hear even if someone tried. She was half asleep and half awake, having been woken up by the sound of the noisy cicadas. "Five more minutes," she grumbled tiredly to no one. It took another few minutes for the loud cicadas to cause green-haired girl to fully wake up and become aware of her actions.

"Gah, what time is it? I don't want to waste my sleep," she growled, angry about having been woken up so early in the morning. She didn't have school, so there wasn't any reason for her to wake up when the sun was still rising in the sky. Before she announced the trip, she had asked Chie if they could have a few days off. Of course, what no one else in the club knew was that she lied about what they were doing and told her that she was taking them all to go on some educational trip to take notes on the many places in Japan and write an essay about it. She winced at the thought of her vacation ending and having to go back to school and write that essay. _How the heck am I suppose to write an essay about something I don't even know?_

Mion decided that since she was on vacation, there was no point in thinking about school. She threw all thoughts about school away and crawled out of her sleeping bag reluctantly. She gave a quick glance over to her sister, who was still buried underneath the covers of her sleeping bag, sound asleep. Mion felt a hint of envy at Shion's ability to sleep through even the loudest cicada cries.

Without knowing what to do, Mion found herself outside her tent, pacing about the campgrounds. The sun rose further up in the sky, beaming down on the green-haired girl. She raised her head up ever so slightly to gaze at the vivid sunrise. An array of intense colors painted the sky and hypnotized the female. She stared at it, completely intrigued.

"The sunset is quite beautiful today," commented a high-pitched feminine voice that seemingly came out of nowhere. Mion jumped in surprise as she broke away from the sky and glanced at the sudden intruder.

"Oh, Etsuko-san, hello!" Mion greeted as she indentified the pink-haired girl as Ohba Etsuko. "Yeah. I don't usually see the sunrise. It's very nice," she added on.

Etsuko was also looking at the bright sunrise as she spoke to the green-haired girl a few feet away from her. "Yup. What woke you up so early, anyways?" she asked.

"Oh, the higurashi cicadas. They're quite loud at the moment, don't you think?" Mion remarked as watched a higurashi cicada crawl on a tall tree, singing as it did so.

Etsuko titled her head. "Haven't you lived in Hinamizawa for a while? I figured that everyone here was used to the noise of the higurashi cicadas. They are quite loud, though," she asked her.

The higurashi cicada Mion had been watching detached itself from the tree and flew into the great sunrise. "Ah, yes. They're much louder around the time of the Watanagashi festival though."

"Watanagashi festival?" questioned the pink-haired girl. For a moment, Mion wondered why the she was so confused as to what the Watanagashi was. _Oh right. No one ever told her about that_ she remembered.

"Yeah. The Watanagashi festival. It's a festival we hold each year at the Furude Shrine to celebrate the god of Hinamizawa: Oyashiro-sama. It happens on the third Sunday in June," she explained. At that moment, she began to feel a bit of déjà vu from the time she first told Keiichi about the festival.

"Strange name," muttered Etsuko, though she said nothing more. It took a few seconds until she spoke up again, this time with a completely new topic. "What happened to that horned girl? I totally forgot about her until a few moments ago when you told me about the Watanagashi festival and the Furude Shrine," she asked curiously.

Mion's heart turned ice cold when she heard the pink-haired girl mention the now ex-member of the club. "Oh. She had to go back to her town. She was a transfer student as well last year," she told the slightly younger girl with a hint of sorrow in her tone at the memory of the purple-haired girl.

"That's kind of sudden, don't you think?" she pointed out. Mion paused for a few seconds. Yeah, it was most certainly strange. Until then, she had passed off Hanyuu suddenly telling them about the incident as her not wanting to break the bad news to everyone. But now that she thought about it, it certainly seemed very odd.

"Yeah. It was very sudden. It took most of the club members by surprise. I mean, who knew that we'd lose another member?" she sighed.

Etsuko frowned at the green-haired girl's words. "_Another_ member?" she repeated with shock.

"That's right. Another member. We used to have another guy in our club named Houjou Satoshi… but he disappeared on the night of the Watanagashi festival one year," she informed her. Talking about the sudden departure of her two friends made Mion feel upset. The subject of Houjou Satoshi was one most complicated and hard to talk about for the club members, particularly Satoko and Shion.

The pink-haired girl noticed the other female's slight dejection. "Were you in love with this Houjou Satoshi guy?" she inquired with curiosity.

"No!" Mion responded without hesitation. "No, I was not in love with Houjou Satoshi," she repeated. She instantly realized that her immediate response and her tone made it seem like she was telling a blatant lie.

"Are you in love with Keiichi-kun, then?" she asked. The green-haired girl froze up upon hearing the pink-haired girl's innocent question. Unlike the last one, this was quite true. Mion _did _have quite a big crush on Keiichi. A mental image of the handsome brown-haired boy appeared in her head and she flushed red. "So you do like him then? That makes two," the girl said, taking Mion's blushing face as an answer.

"Wait… _what?"_ Mion gasped when she heard the last three words the pink-haired girl had said.

"I said, that makes two," Etsuko said once again in a completely innocent tone. To Mion, it seemed almost _too _innocent, like she was doing such on purpose.

"Someone else… likes Kei-chan?" the green-haired girl asked, sounding shocked. She didn't know why she was so surprised by the new information she had received. After all, in her heart, she had known it all along.

"Yup. I was talking with Rena-chan last night. She said that she _really_ liked him," she told her in a manner that made Mion suspicious of her intentions for a few moments.

However, she quickly forgot about any suspicions she had as she roared in a complete rage, "WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

Etsuko crossed her arms and instantly replied, "I just told you. Rena spoke about how much she was in love with Keiichi and how she would do anything for him. She told me that he was the most handsome thing in the world and that she was just _dying_ to take him home with her… for a few nights," she recalled.

Mion's thoughts turned dangerously violent for a few moments and she clenched her white teeth in frustration. "I was right, wasn't I? You do like him," Etsuko said as she noticed the older girl's sudden anger. "Then you should just forget about him. Rena's a much better match for him, don't you think?" she told her without any emotion.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" growled Mion, not wanting to hear whatever the other girl had to say.

But Etsuko continued on with her taunting, "Rena's a really cute girl. She's also really girly. Mion, to me, you come off as more of the tomboyish type. All the guys in my school back in the city dated the girls they perceived as cute and not the rowdy tomboys. One of my best friends was quite the tomboy and she had never been able to get a boyfriend. None of the boys in the school wanted a tomboy for a boyfriend," she told the still enraged green-haired girl.

"That's not true!" she snapped at the pink-haired girl.

Etsuko ignored the girl's comments. "I honestly think that Rena and Keiichi look better together as well. Keiichi seems to have quite the interest in Rena. I have never heard him speak of you in any other way than a best friend. I don't think Keiichi would want to date a girl that acts more like a boy."

Mion tried to deny what Etsuko was saying even though she knew what she was telling her was truth. She was a total tomboy and couldn't act like a girl. Keiichi had never seen her in any way besides a best friend. After all, their almost kiss yesterday was just her acting on her own, right? "Shut up already! You're lying!" Mion hissed.

Etsuko frowned. "I'm just telling you to give up on him so it won't be painful when he picks Rena as a girlfriend. But if you want to ignore my advice, so be it," she said. At this point, Mion was feeling a mixture of anger and heartache. Anger, because she didn't want to hear what Etsuko was saying. Heartache, because she knew what she was saying was true and that she would never be with Keiichi.

The pink-haired girl noticed something odd swirl in Mion's eyes for a few seconds and smirked in satisfaction. "Whatever, Mion. I'm going to leave. You just think about what I said for a little bit, kay? See ya," she spoke as she turned around and headed back to her pink tent. She waved a silent goodbye to the green-haired girl with the back of her hand and disappeared into the fabric of the tent.

She stood there for a few minutes, feeling complete frustration as she looked down at the ground. _What the hell was that bitch thinking? Is she trying to make enemies with me or something like that? _Mion thought as she balled her fists. She growled and looked at the tent that the other girl had disappeared into one last time before turning around and stomping back into her green tent.

The noise Mion made as she entered the tent was enough to wake up Shion, who had been sleeping peacefully up until that point.

"Onee?" the slightly younger girl muttered as she blinked open one of her emerald eyes. "Why are you awake so early?'

"Long story," mumbled Mion as she threw the sheets of her sleeping bag over her head. "I don't want to talk about it. Go back to bed, the others aren't going to be awake for another few hours."

"If you say so," Shion responded before cuddling back into her blankets and closing her eyes.

Mion, on the other hand, lay under the covers with her eyes wide open for a few minutes. The taunting words of Etsuko still echoed in her head and brought her even more anger. She grasped the fluffy inside of her sleeping bag in fury and bit her lip to suppress a scream. _Damn girl. I'll get her back somehow._

~~~X~~~

Mion had woken up for the second time that day at around eleven AM. This time, the campground was bustling with chatter and people. She sat on the brown log that was facing west. She was munching loudly on a few pretzels as she watched Shion and Rena talk about their lives.

"Mi-chan, when does club activities start?" Rena asked her club leader excitedly. She was eager for the club activities today, Mion could tell that in an instant.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not feeling too great today. There won't be any club activities for today. Please just enjoy hanging out," Mion responded as she swallowed the chewed up snack in her mouth.

Rena looked disappointed. "Hau… I guess it can't be helped if Mi-chan isn't feeling happy today. Well, Rena just hopes that Mi-chan will feel much more happy tomorrow!" she spoke cheerfully and gave the club leader one of her cute smiles.

This reminded the green-haired girl of what had happened between her and Etsuko early that morning. The thought of it tasted bitter with a slight spice. Did Rena really have a crush on Keiichi? It had been rather obvious from the start. Even Mion had started to suspect it a few days ago. Yet, to hear it directly shocked her and made her angry.

Just then, Mion heard someone tiptoe up to her from behind. "Who is it?" she asked without turning around to meet the eyes of whoever it was.

"I-It's me," a shaky voice responded, "H-Hisao. C-Can I talk to you for a few seconds?"

Mion whipped around so that she could see the purple eyes of the black-haired boy standing behind her. "What is it?" she asked with a small growl.

Hisao jumped when his hears picked up the sound of her growl. "U-Um… please ignore whatever Nee-chan told you. That is… if she told you anything at all…" he requested as he bowed to her. "She's just… I-I can't explain! But please… ignore it…"

"Huh?" Mion responded. "Oh, okay." Hisao bowed once again and scurried off as soon as he heard her voice. _Wait a second, how did Hisao know that she talked to me? No… that's not it. He said "if she said anything to you at all." Does that mean that he knew she was going to say something to me?_

The situation was beginning to hurt Mion's head. She didn't understand anymore. At first, she just believed it to be Etsuko attempting to be mean to her and cause anger. But was there something else behind it?

The green-haired girl brought another pretzel to her mouth and bit down on it with her teeth as she pondered about both Hisao and Etsuko's words. Slowly, she swallowed. _What the hell? Damn, this doesn't even make any sense!_

~~~X~~~

**Crimso's Corner**

**I honestly shouldn't be writing when I'm tired. It completely kills the quality of my work. I just felt like finishing this chapter before the day ended though.**

**Still having issues with Microsoft Word by the way. Computers are really dumb sometimes.**

**Oh yeah, about the OVA I had been talking about before. Yes, there really is going to be a new OVA. If you don't believe me, check the official Higurashi website (that is Oyashirosama dot com… except it's in Japanese) or MyAnimeList (That is myanimelist dot net) for the English stuff. It's called **_**Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kira **_**(JUST AS PLANNED). ****I want more Mion. If there isn't enough Mion, I will go insane.**

**MOVING ON TO THE FANFIC STUFF:**

**I bet you all hate Etsuko now. Am I right? Well she wasn't just saying that stuff to Mion because she wanted to be mean. She had a reason. What's the reason? Well you're just gonna have to wait to find out because I'm obviously not going to tell you.**

**Should I change the chapter titles to something besides "Camping Trip part X?" It's making the chapter list too long. And it's a boring title.**

**Also, yay for the first flashback of many! Even though the scene only took place 10 minutes ago... haha. Also, yay for 60,000+ words! Do you sometimes suspect that FF's word count is... off? Whenever I edit a few words in the document editor, the word count goes up by like... five hundred words. Not that I'm complaining or anything.**

**~Crimso**


	12. Chapter 11: Fear of Thunder

**I can't believe its chapter eleven… that's somewhat strange. I feel like I was only writing chapter five like… yesterday. I think I'm updating rather quickly… though I'm trying to fit in as many chapters as I can before I go back to school.**

**Oh well, Chapter 11! Please enjoy even though not too much happens here. Just wait until Chapter thirteen for me, okay?**

~~~X~~~

**A few days later….**

The stream roared loudly as it cascaded over the large waterfall and hit the blue river below. Rocks of many different shades aligned the border of the stream just above the waterfall. Two teenagers watched as the water from the river streamed down the large waterfall.

"Hau… it's very pretty, isn't it?" commented the orange-haired girl who stood on the rocks, dangerously close to the edge.

"Ryuuguu-san! Y-You're going to fall!" the black-haired boy behind her cried out as he noticed her feet beginning to slide on the wet rocks.

Rena turned around and gave the boy behind him a wink. "Don't worry, Hisao-kun! Rena isn't going to fall, isn't going to fall!" she reassured him, giving him one of her usual cute smiles.

Hisao looked unsure as he watched her feet closely. They looked awfully like they were about to slip. "Y-You're not worried that you're going to slip at all?" he spoke to her in disbelief. He knew for sure that if it were he standing there, he would probably retreat as fast as he could.

Rena paused and put a finger to her chin for a few moments. "Nope!" she finally answered him, "Rena isn't scared, Rena isn't!"

Hisao looked startled by Rena's courage. He gave the wet rocks another glance. They were awfully jagged and looked easy to slip on. "A-Are you like… some s-super human or something?" he asked her.

"Rena isn't a super human… I don't think…" she spoke to him, sounded a little unsure of her answer for some reason. The orange-haired girl every so slightly took a step forward and bent over to get a better look at the cascading water. "Hau! Look at this! There are tiny rocks below!" she observed. This fact did not make Hisao feel any more impressed by the waterfall. Instead, it made him startled.

"So… if you fall… t-that means you'll get crushed by the sharp rocks!" Hisao concluded as he pictured himself falling down the height of the waterfall and being impaled by a sharp rock.

Rena turned around and blinked at him. "If Hisao-kun is scared of the waterfall… then why did Hisao-kun want to come to see it?" she asked him, slightly confused.

"Well… that's…" the black-haired boy said, trying to figure out how to explain the situation to Rena. His sister's words to him flashed in his mind.

_"Hey Hisao. Since we're going back tomorrow, why don't you go ahead and get more familiar with the people here?" _

He had gone off with Rena when she declared that she was going to go see the waterfall she had heard when exploring the other day before club activities started up. It was his first chance to talk to someone, so he took it. He then winced as he remembered the last thing Etsuko had told him.

_"…Just not too close."_

"U-Um… I just wanted to see a waterfall… you know, cuz I've lived in the city all my life and have never actually seen a real one before," he lied to her, hoping it would sound convincing enough.

Rena seemed to take his answer as she nodded her head. "Oh, I see. Waterfalls are pretty nice, aren't they?" she said to him with a smile.

"Y-Yeah. S-Scary too," Hisao muttered as his purple eyes continued to stare at Rena's feet. The shoes she was wearing didn't seem like very good shoes for climbing on rocks. They were very big brown boots with a bunch of yellow laces decorating the front. He watched as the rock she was standing on began to crumble and wobble slightly, like it was about to fall over the edge of the cliff and into the waterfall…

"WATCH OUT!" he yelled as he grabbed Rena's wrist and tugged her backwards.

The rocks Rena was standing on previously tumbled down the waterfall and hit the surface below. She blinked surprise at the sudden actions of Hisao, her eyes wide. "H-Hisao-kun. You just… saved my life," she realized as she watched the stones crashed into a thousand pieces as they hit the sharp rocks at the bottom of the waterfall.

"H-Huh?" he spoke, not even aware of what his own actions had done.

Rena turned around and embraced Hisao tightly. "Thank you, Hisao-kun! You saved Rena, you really did!" she cried out joyously.

The black-haired boy blushed, embarrassed. "I did?" he asked in shock.

Rena nodded as she pulled away from the embrace. "Yes you did! If it weren't for you, Rena would surely be lying dead on those rocks down there!" she answered. "You should be proud of yourself, Hisao-kun!"

Hisao's eyes glanced back and forth from Rena to the bottom of the waterfall. "T-Thank you, Rena," was all he could say. He himself was still surprised by what he had done.

"No, I should be the one thanking you. So thank _you,_ Hisao-kun!" she responded with joy in her tone.

The black-haired boy was still trying to process all that had happened in the last minute. "Uh, y-you're welcome?" he responded, still not sure of what to say. _Did I really just do that? Did I really just save her life? I did?_

Rena smiled. "Shall we go somewhere else so Rena doesn't accidently almost fall off again? I brought some snacks so we could go find a good place to sit down and eat," she suggested, gesturing to the plastic bag she brought that was leaning against a tree.

"Uh, s-sure," Hisao said, glancing towards the heavy-looking bag. Just how many snacks _did_ she bring? That plastic bag looked like it was about to break!

The orange-haired girl grabbed the slightly younger boy by the hand, taking him by surprise. He let out a small yelp as she grabbed the bag and tugged away from the waterfall. He could do nothing but watch as the trees flew by them. _S-She has super strength! Or something! _Hisao thought as she continued to pull him even further without any complaints.

Rena finally stopped pulling on the black-haired boy, whose eyes were spinning from watching the trees blur by him. "This looks like a good spot!" she decided.

It was a very open area with a few tree stumps here and there. Hisao figured that, if not for those tree stumps, they might have ended up camping in this spot instead. Rena sat down on the green grass and placed the plastic bag on her lap. She fished through its contents and spoke, "Hisao-kun, do you want any particular type of snack?

"N-No… I'll have anything, t-thanks," he responded, still nervous at being somewhere he didn't know with a person he didn't know too well.

Rena smiled as she pulled out a bag of trail mix. "Here is some trail mix! This is Mi-chan's favorite… I bet you will like it as well!" she told him with a smile as she held the bag out in front of him. Hisao reached out and took the small bag in his hands, causing it to make a crackling sound. The orange-haired girl took out a red box with various animals of all kinds painted on it's front. "Hau... animal-shaped crackers! So cute!"

As Hisao ate the trail mix, he watched the slightly older girl obsess over the animal-shaped crackers. He didn't quite understand why the girl loved cute things so much. Though, he had to admit, those animal-shaped crackers were really cute. "A-Are you going to eat them?" he asked Rena, who was currently smothering the unopened box all over her cheek.

"Huh?" she said, breaking out of her reverie. "Oh, Rena will eat them, Rena will. They're soooo cute though," she spoke sadly before she tore open the red box and looked at the assorted animal-shaped crackers. "Hau! This one is a cow!" Rena said excitedly. She waved the cow-shaped cracker back and forth in the air, acting as if she had just won the lottery.

Hisao couldn't help but laugh a little bit. "You're kind of strange, you know that?" he said without thinking. Once he realized what he had just said, he covered his mouth.

Rena suddenly stopped obsessing over the crackers and glanced at Hisao. "Why is Hisao-kun so nervous, so nervous?" she asked with a slight inclination of the head.

"W-Well… t-that's!" he couldn't find words to answer the orange-haired girl. What was he supposed to tell her? He was just naturally shy towards people, after all.

She smiled at him. "Is Hisao-kun scared because he doesn't know Rena very well?" she guessed.

"Y-Yeah, I guess so," Hisao said, deciding it was the best way to answer her question.

Rena reached over the small gap in between the two of them to grab both of Hisao's hands with her own. "Well Rena won't bite you, I promise! Rena isn't a mean person, after all," she told him softly with one of her signature smiles.

Hisao blushed as red as a tomato as he felt Rena's soft hands which reminded him of velvet. "Y-You promise?" he asked, still sounding unsure.

The girl nodded. "I promise," she spoke to him in a warm voice.

Hisao slipped his hands out of Rena's and looked away. "Thanks, Ryuuguu-san," he spoke as he attempted to get over the stutter that plagued his voice.

He jumped in astonishment when he remembered his sister's words. _…Just not too close, huh? _Hisao thought. _Well, I don't think this is really that close. Even if she plans to… do that. _He gulped as he remembered what his sister had been scheming. He didn't want to think about that. It scared him more than that waterfall he had seen a few minutes before_ …so it should be all right if I make friends with her. _That was enough to decide things for him. He clenched his fists tighter than he had ever done before and wore a stern face as he gathered up the courage he lacked. "W-Will you be my friend, Rena?" he asked finally. Once he did, he felt a pang of regret well up in his stomach. What if she said no?

But to his surprise, the orange-haired girl did not look angry nor did she look intimidating to him as she answered, "Rena will be Hisao-kun's friend!" in a cheerful tone.

Where regret once stood, happiness took over. Unlike the pitiful, weak Hisao that had been sitting on the green grass in front of Rena before, Hisao now felt like he had all the courage in the world. He had never felt so strong and brave before. "T-Thank you, Rena-chan!" he cried out in a mixture of joy and excitement.

To his confusion, his new friend started to clap her hands together loudly. "You did it, Hisao-kun! You're really brave!" she praised him.

"I-I don't know," he spoke, "a-am I really that brave, Rena-chan?"

"Yes, of course Hisao-kun!" Rena burst out, "I think Hisao-kun can be brave if he tries! I bet you could make friends with the others, too!"

Suddenly, all the courage Hisao had managed to build up disappeared into thin air, turning him back into his cowardly self. "N-No! I-I can't do it!" he cried out in a panic as he tried to hide himself, acting as if the other club members were a bunch of man-eating monsters.

Rena's smile dropped. "Don't worry. The others won't kill you or anything. They are all very nice people!" she said as she tried to convince him. However, her efforts were in vain as he Hisao shook with fear like an earthquake.

Hisao declined her offer once again with a shake of the head. "No no! I-I'm fine with just you!"

"Are you sure?" Rena asked him, unconvinced. "The others are really friendly, I promise you. Rika-chan and Satoko-chan are very young, so they're not that scary I don't think. In fact, they're cute! Hau!" she cried out, infatuated with the image of the two young girls in her head.

"Er…I'm sure, I'm sure!" he spoke again. Hisao glanced around at the area he was in, slowly growing more nervous. "I gotta go, bye!" he said loudly before he dashed off into the thick woods.

Rena froze. "Huh? Hisao-kun, wait up! You don't even know how to get back to the campgrounds from here!" she yelled to him. She swiftly jumped up on her two feet and snatched up the plastic bag before chasing after the retreating black-haired boy.

~~~X~~~

The yellow sun shone brightly in the sky and down onto the ground below. Two people stood in a green field filled with an assortment of flowers, each having a unique pattern and color. A slight and unnoticeable breeze blew through the blades of grass, causing them to sway slightly.

"Tell me Mion, where are we?" asked Keiichi as he glanced around the field. This area was most certainly a change from the dense woods they had been navigating through just minutes before.

The green-haired girl standing next to him shrugged. "I don't know. But it sure is nice, isn't it?" she commented as she took a deep breath of the fresh air swirling across the field.

Keiichi looked down at the ground, coated with blades of grass and flowers almost as if it were a blanket. "It's kind of strange that there's a random field out here, though."

Mion nodded. "Yeah. I feel like I've been here before though… for some reason. I just can't remember when I was here," she said as she watched a light blue petal detach itself from a flower.

"That's odd. I often get that feeling, too. I don't think I've ever seen this field before though," he muttered as he scanned the many blades of grass.

"Maybe because you haven't been in Hinamizawa as long as I have. Perhaps I went here with Shion sometime. We liked to explore a lot when we were younger," she guessed as she watched another petal fly off its flower.

Keiichi chuckled. "I bet I'd do the same thing if I were you. Hinamizawa isn't very big… but the area around it is so exciting!" he said joyfully. "Of course, I'm not saying that Hinamizawa itself isn't exciting…"

Mion nudged him in the stomach with her elbow. "You don't need to lie and say it's not boring. We all know it is. That's why I'd like to go to the city sometime."

"The city is dirty and not very exciting. I wouldn't move back there even if would get a billion yen for doing so," he said as the breeze tossed his brown-hair into the air.

Several bright petals blew off the same flower at once. "You're such a city boy, Keiichi. You don't know how exciting it would be for a country girl like me who hasn't ever been anywhere besides here and Okinomiya," she joked, playfully punching his side.

"You're such a country girl, Mion," teased Keiichi as he returned her punch.

The teasing stopped when Mion felt something wet drip on her noise. "Hey… did you feel that?" she asked the brown-haired boy standing next to her.

Keiichi gave her a funny look. "Did I feel what, Mion?" he asked. He got an answer in the form of a raindrop hitting his head. "Oh, I felt that."

Several raindrops began to drizzle down onto the field. "Ah, I guess we should go back to camp, then," Mion said. She hadn't realized before that the bright yellow sun shining in the sky had been covered up by stormy gray clouds that seemingly had come out of nowhere.

The drizzling quickly turned into heavy raindrops pouring on their heads. "Yeah, it's raining pretty damn hard. If we run, we might be able to make it before it gets any worse…" Keiichi said as the rain began to soak his red vest.

The two of them turned around to make for the woods when a crash of thunder caused them to freeze directly in their tracks. "Hey, Mion?" Keiichi called.

"Yes… Kei-chan?" answered Mion.

"Isn't it… isn't it dangerous to be around a lot of trees in a thunder storm? You know… lightning might cause the trees to catch fire," he asked her for confirmation.

Mion slowly nodded. "It would be pretty dangerous of us to go into the woods at this time," she said as a flash of lightning lit up the dark sky. "But what do we do then? Sit here and soak?"

Keiichi crossed his arms as he contemplated the situation. "Well, it's either that or we risk ourselves by running through a bunch of trees that could easily catch fire and kill us," he said.

Mion winced as another roar of thunder echoed throughout the plains. "I say we search for some kind of shelter out here. It might be a useless attempt, but it's better than those other two options," she suggested as she looked through the plains for any kind of shelter that might be available to the two of them.

"Good idea. Let's go with that. Definitely sounds better than the other ones," Keiichi decided as the image of him catching on fire flashed through his head. _I'll turn out like those marshmallows from a few days ago! _He thought. _Does that mean that Shion's going to tear off my skin and eat me?_

"Follow me, Kei-chan," Mion ordered the brown-haired boy as she began to scamper through the wet, green grass. Her hair was beginning to get soaked and she could feel her clothes dampen with every minute she spent searching the field.

Keiichi listened to Mion's order and followed her around everywhere she went, like a baby duckling and his mother. Unfortunately, Mion was having absolutely no luck finding any kind of shelter. "Uh, Mion? You're going in circles," Keiichi pointed out as they passed by the area they had been standing on not even ten minutes before.

"Oh, crap!" Mion yelled out as she realized Keiichi was completely right. She then crossed her arms in front of her chest. "This is stupid! There's no kind of shelter here! Might as well sit here and soak!" she yelled out in frustration.

A crash of thunder sounded. Mion jumped as soon as she heard it and grabbed Keiichi's hand. "Come on, don't give up!" she yelled at him, despite it being her that had suggested that they give up.

"Mion-" he tried to say, only to be cut off.

"I know it's hopeless, I know there's no point! I don't care!" she yelled.

"Mion-"

"I just don't want to stay in this rain for any longer!"

"Mion-"

"Damn, did it look like it was going to rain at all to you? The sun was so bright when we first came here. Now I can't even see the blue in the sky!" she complained.

"MION!" yelled Keiichi, causing Mion to shut her mouth.

"Huh, what is it Kei-chan? Do you have something to say?" she asked, apparently not having heard Keiichi trying to speak to her before.

The brown-haired boy sighed and shook his head. "There's a cabin right over there!" he said, pointing towards the silhouette of a small house far away.

Mion blinked at where he was pointing. "Oh, you're right! I can't believe that I didn't see that before! You're so smart, Kei-chan," she praised him. The green-haired girl pulled the brown-haired boy towards the cabin as fast as she could as thunder roared and lightning was ever so slight, but Keiichi could feel the older girl trembling slightly. _Is she shaking?_

The two of them finally reached the small brown cabin. "I wonder if anyone lives here?" Mion wondered aloud. _Wait, you mean, she JUST thought of that?_ Keiichi thought. The female knocked on the wooden door. "Hello, does anyone live here?" she called

She waited a few moments. No response. "Does anyone live here?" she repeated, knocking on the door once again.

Keiichi sighed and pushed the door open. "No one is here, I guess. Let's go inside. I don't want to stay outside any longer," he said, holding the door open for Mion. She nodded her head, then walking into the abandon cabin.

Dust covered almost every corner of the small cabin. It was rather leaky, much to the annoyance of both of them, and there was no source of light besides the windows. There was no furniture at all, the whole place completely empty. "Better than standing outside," muttered Keiichi as he stared at his soaked clothes.

There was a small door located in the back, which Mion then opened. "Hey Kei-chan, it's a bedroom," she said as she took a step inside. The whole room was also empty save for a bed covered in many blankets.

Keiichi followed the female inside the bedroom. "Well, all there is a bed," he commented as he sat down on the mattress.

"Still better than nothing," Mion murmured as she too sat down on the surprisingly comfortable bed. Despite it not being used in a while, there weren't any tears on the mattress and it seemed as if it were in pretty good shape.

Another roar of thunder sounded throughout the field, this time much louder than usual. Mion suddenly yelped at the sound and pulled the blankets over her head, shivering.

"Mion?" Keiichi called, confused. He gently pulled the covers off what looked like a mound to him to reveal a shaking Mion with her eyes tightly shut, hugging herself.

"Leave me alone!" she yelled, pulling the fluffy blankets back over her head. Another yelp sounded out from underneath the covers as the thunder roared again.

Keiichi blinked at his best friend, currently covered up completely. "Mion… are you scared of thunder and lightning?" he asked her softly.

"Shut up! Don't laugh at me!" growled the girl from underneath the many sheets she had piled on top of her.

"I'm not laughing at you, Mion. I'm just asking if you are," he spoke to her with an ever so slight sigh.

A few moments of silence followed. "…Yes," she finally answered, "now go away and don't laugh at me… or else!

Keiichi spent a few moments looking at the lump of covers in silence. Who knew that the brave, fearless Mion was scared of thunder? "Mion, it's okay. I'm not laughing at you. You can come out…" he spoke to her as he reached out to remove the sheets yet again.

"Don't you dare!" growled Mion, somehow sensing his actions. The brown-haired boy's hand drew away from the mound of sheets and he looked away from it. It took a few seconds for the thunder to roar out once again followed by a flash of lightning. The girl underneath the sheets whimpered as she shifted around.

The male slowly removed the covers from on top of the green-haired girl and looked at her. She was curled up in a ball with her hands covering her head and her eyes closed, trembling violently with fear. Slowly, he reached out and began to stroke Mion's wet, green hair. "It's going to be okay, Mion. Just calm down a little," he reassured her softy.

Mion steadily opened up her one of her green eyes and looked at him. "Kei-chan," she managed to speak, her voice riddled with terror.

Keiichi smiled warmly at her. "The thunder will pass by soon, so don't worry," he told her calmly as he continued to run his fingers down her long hair.

But the rain did not stop. As more thunder crashed, the green-haired girl yelped and suddenly clung to the brown-haired boy tightly. Instantly, Keiichi's face turned a bright red. "M-Mion?" he spoke in shock. She did not let go of him, however, and only hugged him even tighter. Shock faded away from Keiichi as he looked down at her. _Yes, she needs me to comfort her right now._ He slowly began to stroke her hair and back with one hand and pulled her closer to his chest with the other. She buried her into his muscular chest and whimpered some more as the rain continued to patter against the nearby window. He took this opportunity to admire the green-haired female's features. She was very beautiful, now that he thought about it. Her yellow shirt was soaked and clung to her figure, causing Keiichi to blush a little more. Her hair was also wet and showed no sign of drying off anytime soon. _Beautiful…_ he thought as he pushed her closer to his chest, _she's just so beautiful._

He slowly grew sick of just hearing the constant sound of the rain hitting the window and the thunder. "Mion… how long have you been scared of thunder for?" he asked her.

"A long, long time," she answered, not pulling away from him. "I think it started when I was six years old…"

**-FLASHBACK: About eleven years ago-**

_A six-year-old Mion curled up in a ball underneath her futon as she clung to her plush cat. It had been raining harshly outside, complete with loud thunder and strikes of lightning. _

_ "Sis, come on, let's play," urged a six-year-old Shion who was also holding a plush cat with eyes of buttons to her chest. "The rain isn't that scary…"_

_ "No! The rain is scary!" snapped Mion as she held her plush cat closer to her. "Go away, Shion!"_

_ The younger green-haired girl flinched slightly at her sister. "B-But sis! You have never been scared of the rain before… i-is it really that scary to you?" asked Shion as she glanced to the window in their room. Outside, it was pitch-black despite it being the middle of the day. Heavy drops of rain fell down from the black clouds coating the sky as thunder constantly roared. _

_ Mion screamed as __**very**__ loud thunder sounded out throughout Hinamizawa. Shion jumped back in surprise, almost dropping her plush cat. "S-Sis?" _

_ The door to their room slid open. "What's wrong, you two?" asked their mother, Sonozaki Akane, as she glanced at Shion staring at a lump under the futon._

_ "Mommy, Mion is hiding under the futon 'cuz she's scared of the loud noises," Shion complained. _

_ Akane sighed and shook her head at her oldest daughter. "Mion, come out of the futon. The thunder isn't going to kill you… it's just a bunch of loud noises," she said to her, crouching down on the ground so that she could lift up the covers of the futon._

_ "No! Mommy, the noises are really scary!" Mion yelled, "it's gonna kill me!" The tiny green-haired girl hugged her plush cat to her chest tightly before beginning to fidget._

_ "Mion, please come out of the futon. Shion wants to play with you. She's very lonely," she urged her daughter. _

_ "Shion has Ayumi!" Mion pointed out. _

_ Akane sighed. "Ayumi is a stuffed cat. I don't think she wants to talk to something that won't respond."_

_ Mion still did not come out of the futon. "I don't care if Shion is lonely! The rain is too scary! It was YELLING at me!" she cried out in fear._

_ "Mion, dear, the rain wasn't yelling at you. It's called thunder. It happens every once in a while when it rains," her mother explained to her. _

_ The younger green-haired girl looked confused. "I thought the rain was being mean to me as well," she muttered, "it wasn't scary though. Just mean."_

_ "You two have both heard thunder before. Mion, I don't see why you just started to become scared of it now. You had no problem with it before now," Akane said as she pulled the futon's covers up a little further so she could get a better look at trembling daughter._

_ "It was so sudden! I was playing with Azumi and Ayumi and then BOOOOOOM! The rain started to yell at us!" Mion began to explain, "and then, it flashed really bright! So I hid under here. It was really scary!" _

_ Shion was stroking the ears of her plush cat she named Ayumi. "She screamed really loudly! She screamed even louder than the rain screamed!" she added on to her sister's story. "I think Azumi got scared as well," she spoke, referring to Mion's identical plush cat. _

_ "Mion, it's okay. The rain wasn't screaming at you. Its just a little noise, that's all," Akane told her daughter in attempt to comfort her, "so go play with Shion now, okay?" _

_ "No!" answered Mion instantly. _

_ Akane frowned. "Alright then. Come out," she spoke as she removed the futon's covers completely. However, Mion did not make a single movement._

_ Shion padded up to her sister and poked her once. "Is she dead?" she asked her mother. _

_ "No, she's not dead. She's just acting a little silly," her mother answered as she scooped up Mion in her arms. "I'm going to take her to the other room, Shion. Follow me," she spoke._

_ Akane carried her daughter who was still grasping onto her plush cat down the hall. Shion followed her mother to the room just down the hallway and opened up the sliding door for her. Akane set her daughter down on the ground. "You two just stay here, okay?" she ordered them before walking out of the room._

_ Mion sat up, thinking that the thunder had gone away. "Is it gone?" she asked her sister._

_ Shion nodded. "I think the rain screaming stopped. So can you play with me and Ayumi now?" she asked as she held up the plush cat in her arms. Around the plush cat's neck was a lime green bow, which made it possible to tell the difference between her plush cat and Mion's, whose cat wore a darker green bow._

_ Mion placed the stuffed cat down in front of her. "Azumi says hi to Ayumi," she explained as she made the plush cat wave a hello to her supposed identical twin sister cat._

_ "Ayumi says hi back," Shion said as she copied her sister's actions. Just then, an unexpected roar of thunder crashed down and caused Mion to yelp._

_ "IT'S GONNA KILL ME!" she screamed aloud as she looked for a place to hide and found none. She stood there in the middle of the room, tormented by the echoes of the thunder. Now, there was no place for her to suppress the loud crashes of the thunder. _

_ Shion watched as her identical twin sister whimpered in fear in a corner, holding on tightly to her plush cat. "Mion?" she called to her sister. _

_ The rain continued on all that night. Mion was too afraid to leave that corner; she thought that if she moved, she would surely be killed by the lightning strikes. She sat there all the rest of that night, hugging herself and whimpering as her twin sister watched. _

**-END FLASHBACK-**

Keiichi listened intently to Mion's story. If it calmed her down slightly to tell of it, then he would listen to whatever she had to say. "So… you sat in that corner _all_ night?" he asked.

Mion nodded, still clinging to Keiichi's chest. "Yeah, that's right. I didn't want to move. I thought that the lightning would hit me if I tried to run back to my room," she explained.

Keiichi realized that the whole incident probably was traumatic for the green-haired girl, and he no longer questioned her fear. Of course something like that would still linger on even after many years had passed.

Thunder crashed once again, causing Mion to hug Keiichi even tighter. "I'm scared, Kei-chan. I'm scared," she admitted.

Keiichi hugged her as tight as he could and stroked her hair gently with one of his hands, his arms still wrapped around the sides of her body. He allowed her to bury her head further into his chest as he smiled.

That's when he thought about her. Mion was his club leader, his rival, and his best friend. When he had first moved to Hinamizawa, she had been the one to welcome him into the club. He remembered the first day that he had joined the club and how Mion had beaten him horribly at Old Geezer. He recalled the first time he was forced to wear a maid's outfit and all the other embarrassing outfits he had to wear because of this girl. This had motivated his spirit. The reason why he had shot the girl with the toy gun was that he wanted a little adventure and excitement in his life. Mion had brought him that with the club. At first, he had thought of her as a male forever trapped inside the body of a female. But now, as he gazed at her trembling body, he began to think that over. Mion had shown him a girly side of her multiple times, but never did he truly realize that Mion really was a girl. _Yes,_ he thought as he looked over her body, _she's really a girl. She's been sending me hints all this time, hasn't she? But in the end, it never really mattered whether or not she acted girly, did it? Because, I realize now that... I fell in love with her a long time ago._

"Kei-chan…?" called Mion to the boy. "Are you all right?"

Keiichi broke away from his thoughts. "Huh? Yeah, I'm all right. What about you?" he asked her.

"Fine. The rain stopped," she informed him, pointing to the window.

"W-What? W-When?" asked a very red-faced Keiichi. He had been so caught up in his own thoughts about her that he had failed to notice the rain cease.

"About a minute ago. I didn't really notice either," she admitted, her face slightly pink. She broke away from his embrace and stood up. "I guess we should get going."

Keiichi nodded. "Y-Yeah. Let's go back to the campgrounds. I bet everyone is wondering where we went."

The two of them exited the cabin and walked out onto the wet plains. Drops of water still lay on the blades of grass, dripping from the pointed ends. They eventually reached the forest and began to navigate their way through the thick trees.

_I can't believe I was so caught up in him holding me that I forgot it was thundering!_ Mion thought as she struggled to find her way back to the campgrounds. _ I can't believe I was so caught up in holding her that I didn't notice the rain had stopped! _Keiichi thought as he followed Mion, who he had realized had no idea where she was going.

It took at least another hour for the two of them to reach the campgrounds. As soon as they set foot on the campgrounds, they caught sight of Satoko running up to them. "Hey you two! You're finally back! Shion-san was worried about you, Mion-san," she told them.

"Sorry, we had to run to find shelter from the rain," Mion apologized as she rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Keiichi said as he avoided eye contact with the blonde-haired girl.

Satoko smiled at the two of them. "Oh well! I'm glad you're back now. Let's have our final club activity before we go to bed!" she said to the both of them excitedly. "I wonder what the games are going to be today?" she spoke to herself as she turned around and went back to her tent.

Before Mion and Keiichi could take another step forward, Shion dashed over to them. "Onee! You're okay!" she yelled in relief.

"Yeah, I'm alright! Thanks for worrying, Shion!" Mion called back to her twin sister.

Shion stopped in front of the two of them. "Oh wow, you guys are soaked. Did you get caught in the rain?" she observed as she scanned the both of them up and down with her eyes.

"Yeah, but we found shelter," Keiichi answered the green-haired girl.

Shion glanced over to her sister. "Hey sis, did he find out about… _that?"_ she asked her.

Mion nodded grimly. "Yeah, he found out about that all right. It was a very embarrassing experience for me," she grumbled, recalling how she had freaked out and made a fool of herself in front of Keiichi.

Shion couldn't help but laugh a little. "Hey Kei-chan, I bet you had no idea that my sister here was scared of thunder!"

"Yeah, you've got that right," responded Keiichi.

Mion growled at her sister, telling her to keep quiet about the subject, as it was quite embarrassing for her. "I'm going to go get changed. Shion, come with me back to our tent please," she said as he grabbed her sister by the wrist and pulled her back to the green tent.

Keiichi placed his hands on his hips as he watched the two twins wander away. "See you both!" he called to them.

"See ya!" they called back to him in unison.

~~~X~~~

"It won't be much longer now," said Etsuko as she sat in Hisao's tent. Keiichi had gone off to talk to Rena and was currently not located inside his tent, giving Etsuko and Hisao some time to talk alone.

Hisao nodded slowly at his older sister. "Just be careful, Nee-chan. I don't want you getting hurt or anything."

Etsuko laughed at his brother. "I won't be hurt. After all, I've been waiting for this for a very long time. You should know that better than anyone else, Hisao," she told him before she gulped down a bottle of fresh water that had been sitting next to her.

"Oh, I know…" he muttered.

~~~X~~~

**Crimso's Corner. **

**It's 11:59:40. Haha, just barely finished this chapter today! Whoo!**

**So, you're probably thinking right now "What the heck was that chapter about, Crimso? Nothing happened at all! It was basically just random dialogue!"**

**I know! Okay, I know! This chapter was for building up relationships some more. And besides, Keiichi DID realize that he liked Mion. That certainly did take him a while, hm? Yeah. Keiichi is so oblivious. Though I'm warning you, that's probably the last fluffy scene you're getting for quite a bit *cackles evilly*. **

**In case you were wondering, Keiichi's thoughts at the part where he realized that he liked Mion were basically saying that it didn't even matter if Mion was trying to show him her girly side because he would have liked her anyways. …Does that make sense to you, or did I just make it more confusing?**

**So, next chapter is the end of the camping trip. I might actually just combine the next chapter with the one after that since all they're really doing is leaving.**

**Damn... I have a Spanish Project to start working on soon. Yes, he assigned us a project over Spring Break. Hopefully that won't slow down my updates.**

**Out.**

**~Crimso.**


	13. Chapter 12: Return to Hinamizawa

**You know what I really hate? Those seeds inside pretzel sticks.**

**Okay, I'm sorry. That was completely random. But it's true.**

**Moving on, enjoy number twelve! Another transition chapter… eep. **

~~~X~~~

The sun had just risen in the sky when a rather disturbing yell woke up all the club members from their peaceful slumber. "CLUB MEMBERS, PACK UP!" screamed their leader, who stood in the very center of the camp. Next to her stood her groggy twin sister, who was currently wishing she were still in bed. Mion climbed down from the log she had been standing on and dust herself off. She was currently in the complete opposite state of her twin sister. "All right Shion, let's grab our things right now and get ready!" she said.

Shion grumbled and rubbed her head for the forth time, "I don't see why you're so eager to leave the campgrounds, sis. I thought you didn't want to go back to school," she muttered.

"I'm not eager to go back to school at all! I'm just excited for the Watanagashi festival is all. Aren't you excited as well, Shion?" Mion told her sister. She was completely oblivious to the fact that she had woken them all up early without warning them she was going to do so the previous day. "I don't see why you're so tired," she spoke, observing her sister who was still rubbing her green eyes.

The younger green-haired girl nodded only slightly. "Yeah, of course I'm excited for Watanagashi. I just don't understand why you had to wake us up this early in the morning. It's not like we're in a rush or anything like that," she said before stretching her mouth open to yawn.

The older twin looked at her sister with an eyebrow raised. "Didn't I warn you all that I'd be waking you up early?" she pointed out.

"No no, sis. You said absolutely nothing of that sort," grumbled Shion as she made her way back to her tent to pack up her belongings. Perhaps she would fit in a few minutes of sleep while she waited for the others.

The first one to come out of their tent was Rena, wearing her pink nightgown. The girl scanned the area, her brain still not functioning completely as she had just woken. "Mii-chan? It's so early, so early. Rena wanted to get some more sleep," she spoke to the green-haired girl once she caught sight of her.

"Ah come on! It's not _that_ early!" laughed Mion. "We want to pack up now so we can get to Hinamizawa earlier in the morning. I have stuff I need to do there," she explained. The orange-haired girl looked at her for a little while, not processing anything she was saying.

"Hau," was all she could say before stumbling back into the pink tent.

"Rena, if I catch you sleeping you'll certainly get the punishment game!" yelled Mion to the girl.

Rena poked her head out of the tent ever so slightly. "Wait, what do you mean by get the punishment game? There's a punishment game for packing?" she asked, confused.

Mion nodded. "Yes! The last person who finishes packing gets the punishment game! And I promise you it will be a harsh one," she told Rena.

Rena pictured herself clad in a frilly and skimpy maid outfit while also wearing a pair of black kitty ears atop her head. Then, she imagined walking around Hinamizawa wearing that same outfit and being attacked by Irie, who had a severe maid fetish. This caused her blue eyes to snap open. "Hau!" she cried out, possibly louder than Mion had been yelling before. She then dashed into the tent and began throwing all her belongings into her backpack with preternatural speed.

"I'm gonna have to run if I want to win!" Mion realized as she too ran back into her tent. Sitting inside the tent was Shion, who was currently packing up her stuff. She had still not been fully awakened and was dumping things into her backpack meant for her clothing without thinking.

"Uh, Shion? That's my stuff," Mion told her when she noticed Shion beginning to pack away her clothing. Shion turned around slowly and titled her head at the same speed.

"Eh?" was all she said before turning the bag upside down. Everything she had just put in her bag dumped on the floor in a heap. "Gotta… gotta start over," she grumbled as she set her backpack down once again and returned to packing.

Mion crossed her arms as she watched Shion and tapped her feet impatiently. Her sister seemed to show no signs of coming to her senses as she began to throw Mion's stuff in her backpack for a second time. "Shion, WAKE UP!" Mion yelled at her sister to no avail. Sighing, Mion realized that she'd have to come up with a different plain in order to wake her sister up. An evil smirk appeared on her face as she came up with a plain… one that would certainly have her sister wide awake and ready to go in seconds. "Oh no, Shion! Satoko is getting attacked by bears!" Mion told her, trying to sound as frightened as she possibly could.

As Mion had planned, Shion's green eyes snapped open. "What? Where is she? I'll go kill those bears!" Shion declared as she pushed Mion out of the way and ran outside. Mion watched as her sister ran around the campground frantically, calling for Satoko as she did so. "Satoko? Where are you! I can't hear you at all, so you have to answer me louder!" she called.

A small figure trudged out of the blue tent dizzily. "What is it, Shion-san? I just woke up, you know," she grumbled as she rubbed her purple eyes tiredly.

As soon as she heard the young girl's voice, Shion whipped around. "Satoko! Onee told me you were being attacked by bears!" she spoke, relieved. She ran up to Satoko and hugged her tightly. "I'm glad, I'm so glad…"

Wait a moment. Did Mion say that bears were attacking Satoko? Realization hit Shion hard. Such a situation wouldn't ever happen, now would it? "Onee! You tricked me!" Shion growled as she abandoned embracing Satoko and charged at full speed into the green tent belonging to her and her sister.

Mion stood there, laughing at her younger twin sister. Shion tackled her, enraged. "How dare you, Onee! I thought something was seriously wrong with Satoko for a moment there!"

Mion still laughed, even as her younger sister attacked her. "Haha! I didn't trick you, Shion! You were just stupid enough to fall for such a lie like that! Did you really think that she was being attacked by bears?"

Shion grunted as she sat on her sister, showing no signs of getting up. "Yes, of course I did! What if I told you that Kei-chan was getting mauled by a bunch of rabid rabbits?" she asked, still upset.

The older green-haired girl's eyes widened. "Wait… Kei-chan is being mauled by a bunch of rabid rabbits?" she repeated in disbelief.

"No, he's not. I said what IF I told you he was. Gee, sis, you're so stupid sometimes," said Shion with a sigh. She tumbled off her sister's stomach and then lay still next to her. "You're so weird for falling for that. And I wasn't even trying to trick you, either."

"S-Shut up, stupid Shion! You're the stupid one!" she argued back.

"No, Onee, you are clearly the less intelligent one of us. In fact, I even think that you forgot you were supposed to be packing right now," she said, gesturing to the two empty bags that were supposed to be filled with their materials by now.

Mion stood up instantly. "Oh yeah! Come on, Shion! Start packing!" she ordered.

"Well, let's get changed first," Shion said, "after all, we are going to have to pack up our clothing. I don't want to have to dig through all my stuff to find my clothes after I've already packed 'em."

Mion nodded as she took out her casual outfit, a yellow t-shirt and jeans along with a white sweater that she wore around her waist. She also pulled out her holstered airsoft gun, which gave her a sense of tomboyishness.

Shion dug through the pile of many objects she had dumped on the ground while she was still half-asleep. It took her quite a bit until she was able to find her outfit. Shion always wore a white shirt and a black skirt along with yellow ribbons in her hair.

As they were getting themselves changed, Shion caught sight of her sister's bare back, the tattoo of the demon engraved into it. She shuddered at the sight of that tattoo, the tattoo that tore them apart from each other when they were so long. She hated that tattoo more than anything else in the world. Something so small had caused such a big change in their relationship in seconds.

Mion sensed her sister's eyes on her back and stopped. "Shion, is there something wrong?" she asked her grimly, although she already knew the answer. She was thinking about _that_ incident.

"No, sorry. Just forget about it," muttered Shion as she turned away from her sister to resume getting herself changed.

Mion, however, did not. She stood there, completely still with her bangs covering her eyes in a dark manner. "Shion?" Mion called to her sister.

"Yes, Onee?" Shion answered, having finished getting herself changed.

"…Do you hate me?" she asked her seriously.

The younger green-haired girl was taken aback by her sister's sudden question. It seemed strange to Shion that she'd just ask something like this out of the blue when she already knew the answer. "I told you, Mion. I don't hate you for it. It wasn't your fault. It was just a little accident, that's all," she muttered.

Mion didn't seem convinced by her sister's words. "Are you sure about that, Shion? Everything could have been different for you now…"

"Onee, I think the Sonozaki family has gotten over everything I've done to them. I haven't received any bad treatment from our family for a while, so you shouldn't worry," she responded. Shion got up and wandered over to her sister. Not wanting to see anymore of the tattoo, she pulled her sister's shirt over her head. "Besides, I think you're the one who has it worse. If anything, I should be the one who is sorry to you."

Mion gave her sister a sad smile. "I guess so. There are ups and downs about it," she muttered.

Shion nodded. "That's why we shouldn't discuss this anymore. How about if we both just acknowledge the fact that both sides have pros and cons and be done with this conversation. I don't really want to think about this anymore, it makes me head hurt slightly," she decided.

Mion bobbed her head. "Alright, that's good enough. Let's go back to packing all our stuff so that we don't get the punishment game," she said to her sister before returning to sorting through the objects scattered about their messy tent. The two of them had pretty much thrown everything everywhere on the ground and around their tent during the trip's duration, so it was hard for them to locate the objects they needed to put in the bags. Mion had brought several bags, giving each one a specific purpose. The two of them packed up their clothes before moving on to pack up other miscellaneous objects.

Cards of all sorts littered the floor of their tent. Mion examined each card carefully, determining which card belonged in which deck. She and Shion had spent many nights playing with cards and a lot of the time they forgot to put them away before going to bed.

Silently, Shion snuck a medium-sized object into her bag, glancing at Mion to make sure that she wasn't looking at what she was holding. Finally deciding that Mion probably wouldn't turn to look at her while she was busy sorting out the cards, she turned away from her and placed the object carefully into the bag.

"Shion? Why do you still have that?" Mion asked her. Shion instantly yelped and whipped around, embarrassed at having been caught. She had just gotten unlucky, she thought, as Mion had shown absolutely no sign of turning around.

"Uh… it brings back memories!" Shion tried to explain as she tried to hide the object inside her backpack.

Mion sighed and walked over to Shion, opening up her backpack and pulling out the object. It was a medium-sized plush cat with brown fur and buttons for eyes. Around it's neck it wore a lime-green bow tied firmly to it. "This is… Ayumi, right? That was her name, wasn't it?" Mion asked as she looked at the plush cat that she held in her hands.

Shion nodded slowly. "I brought yours too… just in case," she admitted, clearly ashamed of herself. She dunked her hand inside the bag and grasped a small, plush paw. She pulled it out and gazed at the plush cat, identical to the other one save for the fact that this one wore a darker bow. "Azumi was her name, in case you forgot," she reminded her.

Mion handed the other stuffed cat back to her sister and took her own in her arms. As she stared at it's button eyes, memories of the past came flooding back to her. _That's right… wasn't I telling Kei-chan about these plush animals yesterday?_ She recalled. "Shion… why did you bring these?" she asked her as she played with the cat's soft ears, not taking her green eyes away from the small buttons.

Shion looked away from her sister, afraid that she would laugh at her childlike behavior. "Oh, no reason. I just wanted… to. I guess," she lied.

"Shion… don't lie," her older sister said as she massaged the cat's small plush paws.

Shion hugged her own plush cat to her chest tightly. "It reminds me of so many things. It reminds me of all those times we had when we were little. It's just so… nostalgic," she answerer, her tone full of shame.

Mion continued to stroke the cat's fake fur. "It is, isn't it? I don't blame you, Shion. So don't be ashamed of yourself, alright?" she told her sister, still gazing at the small cat named Azumi. As she looked at it more, she began to feel as if she was a little girl again, playing with Shion in their room. These stuffed toys had been with them forever. Their mother had given them to her daughters only a few weeks after their birth. Slowly, Mion pulled the small cat to her chest and held it there.

After seeing her sister's actions, Shion no longer felt embarrassed. She had been afraid that her sister would laugh at her for bringing such a childish object with her on the trip. "Thank you for not laughing at me, Mion. I was sure you would," she murmured.

Mion gave her sister a warm smile. "It's okay, Shion. I wouldn't laugh at you for thinking that these plush cats are nostalgic. They really are, after all."

Shion returned Mion's smile before placing the plush cat back in her backpack. Mion gave the small plush cat she was holding one last glance before she also set it down. Shion zipped it up tightly and slung it around her shoulder. "Alright, Onee. Just finish up with those cards, then we'll troll up the sleeping bags, and I think we'll be done here!" she said.

Cards were still laid out in three stacks on the ground in front of Mion's backpack. "Right, I'll get back to that. You roll up your sleeping bag and I'll roll mine up as soon as I'm done sorting out these cards," she responded. Mion scooted back in front of the three stacks and continued collecting the many cards scattering the tent's surface.

It took quite a bit, but Mion eventually finished up with her cards and rolled up her sleeping bag. She placed it inside a rather large bag and picked it up before sliding her other backpack onto her back. "Okay, now all that's left is to wait for the others to finish packing. I wonder if anyone else _has_ finished?" she said, glancing towards the entrance to the tent.

The two of them stepped outside. The first thing that greeted them was the sight of a very distressed Rena attempting to carry about five or six heavy bags at once. Rena was quite strong. Her punches were quick and could send someone flying ten meters away if she put her strength into it. Sitting on the log behind her was Etsuko, who had placed all her bags on the ground and was currently talking to Rika sitting next to her.

"Need any help with that, Rena?" Shion asked, wincing at the sight of Rena balancing out the weight of five bags.

Rena shook her head. "Rena can do this… Rena can do this! This is absolutely no problem!"

Shion gave the orange-haired girl an unsure glance. "Oh well, if you really say so, Rena-san," she sighed as she walked over to sit next to Rika on the log. Mion gave once last look to Rena before she sat parallel to Shion.

Suddenly, Keiichi came running out of the tent in a rush. "I'm not the last one, am I?" he asked, scanning the area quickly. He let out a sigh of relief when he realized that they were currently missing Satoko and Hisao. "Huh. That's strange. Hisao wasn't in his tent," he murmured.

As if on cue, Hisao stumbled out of a bunch of nearby trees. "I-I'm sorry about that! I-I… was just… exploring a little bit. Y-You know, b-before we have to go…" he tried to explain with his usual nervous stutter. He ran over to his bags, which were placed right next to his sister's bags and strapped the one that looked like it carried the least amount of weight inside to his back.

Mion glanced around at all the club members. "That means that Satoko is the loser and will receive the punishment game upon our next club meeting tomorrow!" she declared loudly so that they could all hear her.

Her voice was loud enough to catch the attention of Satoko, who was busy packing her last things into a large bag. "Wa! I'm almost done, so please don't give me the punishment game!" she begged. Only five seconds later, the yellow-haired girl came dashing out of the tent.

Mion smirked, her arms crossed against her chest. "It's no use, Satoko! You are the loser! As such, you will be the one to receive the punishment game!" she spoke to her in an intimidating manner that all the club members were all too familiar with.

Satoko sat down in front of Rika and began to sulk, cursing her misfortune. "It's not even my fault… I just had a lot of stuff to pack up and Rika didn't even wake me up until she was half way done with _her_ packing!" she complained.

Mion waggled her finger. "Well that's too bad then. Remember the club rules! You must always accept any punishment game no matter what!" she reminded the younger girl. "Furthermore, it was perfectly fair of Rika not to wake you up until you are done. Rule number two of the club is that you must do everything in your power to win, which includes doing things often known as cheating to some people sometimes! As a member of the club, I'm ashamed that you forgot about the rule, especially since you use it so often. I'm disappointed in you, Satoko. I thought that the person with the second most wins would know better than that! Of course, Rika is close behind you in third place…" she continued on passionately. Shion swore, when it came to the club rules or just the club in general, Mion's speeches could be more tedious than Keiichi's.

"Yeah yeah, I get it! Stop reminding me!" snapped Satoko, clearly upset at her loss.

Rika reached over and patted her friend's soft yellow hair. "Pity, pity. Next time, you will do better! Fight, Satoko!" Rika said in attempt to cheer up and encourage her.

Shion cleared her throat. "Okay, now that we're done with the club's affairs, let's move on to putting away these tents and carrying them…" she said.

Mion crossed her arms once again. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that!" she said, pointing a finger up in the air. "Kei-chan, I hope you won't mind carrying one or two tents…"

Keiichi gulped. "Hey wait a moment! I have all these other bags to carry as well!" he protested. He pointed to the cluster of bags on the ground, all belonging to him.

Mion simply laughed at him. "Well then Kei-chan, it's your own fault for packing so much stuff! Deal with it! Besides, Rika and Satoko are much too small to carry so much stuff."

"Why don't _you_ carry it, Sonozaki Mion!" growled Keiichi.

The green-haired girl stuck her tongue out at her crush, "well I don't want to, and since I'm the club leader and I'm the one who decides everything here, I don't have to!"

Keiichi grumbled and placed his hand on his chin. "Well get some other person to carry the other two, then. I'm not going to carry all four tents," he mumbled.

The club leader glanced at all the other people. She didn't want to bother Shion, Rena was carrying way too much, Keiichi already had two tents plus all the other stuff he brought, Hisao probably couldn't hold much, so that meant…

~~~X~~~

The forest was rather thick going back. Hinamizawa's outskirts were littered with many hills. This time, however, it was much easier to pass through the hills as they were walking down them rather than walking up. Of course, that also meant if anyone were to start running or something similar, they wouldn't be able to stop and it would probably cause a large injury.

"Why do I have to carry these tents? They're just extra weight!" Etsuko complained. In her hands were two packages containing the tents that had been folded up. In truth, they weren't even that heavy. Mion was just making a big deal out of who would carry them. As such, they seemed a lot heavier to Etsuko.

Keiichi, on the other hand, was having no problem carrying the two tents in his strong arms. He was quite surprised by his own strength, as he hadn't known that he could balance out two tents along with the other backpacks that he was carrying.

On the way to the campgrounds, Ichirou had been helping them carry supplies. Now, he wasn't there to help them. The club members were having a hard time balancing out all their things and were constantly stumbling.

Rena was probably carrying the most. She had at least four backpacks hanging from her arms as well as a few on her back. They were full of cute things that she had found and taken home. All of the things she was carrying must have weighed as much as a moose as Rena was well known for being quite strong,

Hisao glanced over to his friend. "Um… Rena-chan? Do you need any help with your bags? I'm not carrying much," he asked. Now that they were friends, he felt as if he had to help her. Wasn't that what friends were for? He had never had any friends, so he didn't know.

"B-But I don't want to trouble Hisao-kun with the heavy bags. Hau…" Rena muttered as she glanced through the bags she was holding.

The black-haired boy stared intensely at the bags, as if he was trying to see the content through the bag's thick plastic walls. "W-What did you even bring with you? I don't think you had this much w-when we were coming over here," he asked her.

Rena's face instantly lit up. "Hau! The bags are all filled with cute things that Rena took home! Hau~." At that moment, Hisao could have sworn he saw a ring of smoke pop out from the top of her head like a chimney.

"O-Oh. I see," he said as he continued to stare at the bags. In truth, he felt rather uncomfortable talking to her. After all, Rena was the first friend he had ever had. "Y-You really like cute things, don't you?" he commented nervously.

"YES! Rena LOVES cute things! Hau~!" Rena cried out. More smoke began to rise from the top of the orange-haired girl's head as she continued to fantasize about the many cute things she had found. Hisao was rather shocked, to say the least. He hadn't ever seen someone so passionate about something except…

"W-What kind of things did you find?" he asked her in attempt to be friendly with her.

There was so much smoke coming out of Rena's head that Hisao swore that she'd catch the whole forest on fire. "Rena found many cute things! The animal-shaped crackers were the cutest of them all! Hau!" she cried out.

Hisao opened his mouth to reply, but instantly closed it. He was going to mention that the animal-shaped crackers weren't something that she found in the woods and rather something that Shion had brought with them to the campgrounds. He had deemed this to be too rude of him and decided not to comment on that. "Ah… animal-shaped crackers," was all he said in response.

Rena waved one of her bags around. "This bag is full with animal-shaped crackers! Rena found a whole bunch of them! Hau~" she spoke. The bag was plastic and had a red tint from the contents.

In the front of the group, Keiichi's stomach began to growl. "Hey, Mion. Can you hand me a snack? It doesn't matter what type of snack it is… just something," he asked the girl standing right next to him. Mion pulled open the bag that supposedly was carrying the snacks and peeked inside of it.

"Um… Kei-chan? There's no snacks," Mion replied as she continued to gaze shocked into the bag as if a monster had suddenly popped out of it.

"WHAT! You've been carrying an empty bag this whole time!" yelled Keiichi in a rage.

Mion nodded slowly. "It appears that I have been. It's not my fault though… someone gave me this bag randomly. It's not like I packed it or anything," she muttered, not taking her green eyes away from the empty bag, which seemed like a lonely abyss to the green-haired girl.

"You still should have noticed that it was empty!" cried Keiichi. "Are there any other bags that have food?"

Mion shook her head slowly, like she was in a trance. "No… there are no other snack bags. I think that we ate all the snacks, Kei-chan…" she replied.

Keiichi was about to yell at the green-haired girl, but then he caught sight of the bag that Rena was holding. "Animal-shaped crackers!" he suddenly called out, instantly knowing the contents of the bag. "Rena stole all the animal-shaped crackers so no one would eat them!"

Rena looked away from Hisao, who she was currently talking to, and looked over to Keiichi. "Hello there Keiichi-kun!" she greeted him with one of her cute smiles. Mion swore, if Rena ever looked at her smiles in the mirror, she'd try to take herself home. This was a fact that made her heart hurt, as she was still under the impression that Rena was in love with Keiichi. Rena's smile instantly faltered when she noticed his angry expression. "Huh? Why does Keiichi-kun look so mad, mad?"

"Rena… give me those animal-shaped crackers!" Keiichi ordered. The orange-haired girl instantly wore a horrified expression on her face as she shook her head and took a few steps back. "Rena… I said, give me those animal-shaped crackers!" he demanded again.

However, Rena still did not listen. "No… no! They are too cute to be eaten! Rena will not hand over the animal-shaped crackers!" she replied.

Keiichi was beginning to grow irritated with Rena's behavior. "Rena… I'm starving to death and all you can think about is how cute the crackers are. I don't care if they're cute; I'm just hungry! So please give me the animal-shaped shaped crackers!" he begged.

Rena's response didn't change. "Rena will not hand over the animal-shaped crackers! Keiichi-kun will do horrible things to the little bunnies! Rena knows, Rena knows!" she yelled. She began to cling to the bag containing the boxes of animal-shaped crackers protectively, as if she was a mother trying to protect her baby from an evil man.

Mion began to grow a little annoyed as well. "Hey listen, Rena. This old man is hungry as well. Can you hand some of your animal-shaped crackers to me?" she asked her, hoping for a different response. Unfortunately for her, Rena's response refused to change as she shook her head. "What? I'm your club leader, so hand me those animal-shaped crackers!" she demanded, throwing up her hands in the air in rage. This caused her bags to go flying into the air, only to be caught by Shion.

"Mion, you know what this means?" Keiichi asked as he looked to his club leader.

"No, what does it mean?" she asked back.

"It means that we're going to have to team up and take the animal-shaped crackers… by force!" he answered in a dramatic fashion. Quickly, he placed all his bags on the floor and charged straight for Rena. Rena, in alarm, instantly responded by punching the brown-haired boy with all her strength. Mion decided to copy her defeated ally's actions and ran for Rena, only to receive the same exact treatment from her.

Hisao looked up at his friend. "Why don't you give them the animal-shaped crackers, Rena-chan? They're very hungry," he suggested, glancing over worriedly at the two older teenagers lying defeated on the floor.

Rena looked unsure at the black-haired boy. "I don't know, Hisao-kun. Should I give them the animal-shaped crackers? I think they're too cute to be eaten… hau…"

Hisao nodded. "I think you should give them the animal-shaped crackers. T-They were made to be eaten… n-not to be stared at… I think," he responded.

Reluctantly, Rena handed two boxes of animal-shaped crackers to the club members on the ground. "Hau… eat them. But eat them away from Rena so that Rena doesn't have to see the poor little animal's brutal deaths," she told them.

Keiichi jumped to his feet and snatched away one of the boxes. "Yes!" he cried as he tore off the top of the box and began to wolf down the animal-shaped crackers as if he himself were an animal. Mion also took the box and ate hers more slowly than her partner's. "Thank god!" cried a relieved Keiichi as he finished his crackers.

"Mii… can we get moving?" asked Rika as she looked at the commotion. "I think that we've wasted enough time with the animal-shaped crackers this trip…"

Shion nodded in agreement. "Onee, I can't carry all these bags forever," she spoke, glancing down towards the bags she caught when Mion had accidently thrown them up in the air without thinking.

Mion finished her animal-shaped crackers and took her bags back from her struggling sister. "Okay, thank you Shion. And also, sorry about that. I guess I just wasn't thinking when I did that," she apologized.

With that, the group moved onwards. Keiichi found that he was still hungry, as animal-shaped crackers weren't exactly filling. "Damn, I can't believe we finished up all the snacks," he grumbled to himself.

Out of nowhere, a voice began to say, "well, that's basically all we had. I'm not surprised."

Keiichi whipped around to look at the owner of the voice. "Oh, Etsuko. How are you?" he asked the pink-haired girl for lack of anything else to say.

She shrugged. "I could be better. I'm not very fond of carrying all these tents, of course," she responded as she tried to balance out the wobbling bags she was carrying in her arms.

Keiichi couldn't help but chuckle a little bit. "Of course. No one likes carrying heavy objects, after all. It's just a lot of work."

Etsuko began to look up and down Keiichi's arms. "You don't seem to be having much trouble carrying all that. You must be very strong," she commented.

The brown-haired boy blushed a little bit at her remark. "Uhm… well I'm not really that strong actually…" he said, embarrassed.

Etsuko ignored him, "I bet you're really muscular as well. Are you?" she asked him.

The brown-haired boy looked away. "Well, I don't know if you could say that…"

The pink-haired girl smiled. "I bet you are. I like muscular guys. They're so manly," she giggled as she continued to observe Keiichi's features.

Keiichi's face only turned redder. "I'm sorry, but there's someone else I li-"

He tried to explain to her, only to be cut off by more of the pink-haired girl's talking.

"You remind me a lot of this one guy I used to know," she told him.

Keiichi wasn't sure what to say to the girl. "I-Is that so?" was the first thing that came out of his mouth.

Mion watched as the two younger teenagers continued their conversation. _Is he blushing at her?_ She thought, shocked. _Damn her… what the hell is she trying to do with my Kei-chan? If she touches him I'll-_

"Onee? You look angry for some reason," Shion remarked, breaking her sister's train of thoughts.

Mion managed to fake a small laugh. "Ahaha! Yeah, I guess I look angry. I was just thinking about that one time with Takano is all. You know?" she lied, twirling a strand of her hair nervously.

Shion titled her head. "Well that's a strange subject to be thinking about, seeing as it happened almost a year ago," she pointed out, looking somewhat confused by her sister's lies. "Though I remember that day as if it were yesterday."

The green-haired girl nodded. "Yeah, that was probably the boldest thing I've ever done in my life. You know, try to take the bullet for everyone…"

Shion nodded. Even though she hadn't been there when her sister had attempted to take a bullet for the whole club from a deranged Takano, she had been told about the incident in full detail. "You were very brave for doing that, Onee. I wish I had your courage sometimes."

"Well…" Mion couldn't find any words to respond to Shion. "That's…"

"Hey guys! I can see the Saiguden!" Rika cried out with joy as she pointed to the tool shrine just beyond a few trees. "We're almost there!"

Satoko grinned. "It's almost our stop, Rika! Our house is just few minutes away!" she spoke with glee.

"Everyone, Satoko and I will be heading to our house now. See ya!" Rika told the rest of the group. The two younger girls bounded away with joyfulness, probably relieved to see their house again after being away from Hinamizawa for a week and a half.

"See ya, Rika-chan, Satoko-chan!" cried Rena as she attempted to wave a goodbye. Her attempts, however, were in vain as she was carrying too much stuff to find a free hand.

Not too long after, they reached the familiar dusty path that led to Mion and Shion's house. "Alright, Onee. This is where we leave," Shion spoke.

Mion nodded. She felt as if it had been years since she had seen the old dusty path to her house. The camping trip had been fun yet it had been so full of drama at the same time. "Right. Let's go, Shion! See you, everyone!" she called to the others.

Keiichi watched as the two identical twin sisters disappeared down the path. "Goodbye, Mion! Goodbye, Shion! See you both at school tomorrow!" he cried out to the two of them as they faded away from his sight.

They continued down the next path they saw, chatting all the way. Keiichi sighed as he breathed in the fresh air of Hinamizawa. It had certainly been a while, hadn't it? But for some reason, he didn't see anyone walking the path besides the him and the remaining club members. _Where is everyone?_

Soon, they came to the spot where Rena and Keiichi met everyday for school. "Okay, everyone. This is where I'm off. I'll see you guys tomorrow!" he spoke to them before he ran down the path to his house. All three of the remaining campers waved him a goodbye.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Keiichi-kun!" called Etsuko to the brown-haired boy.

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow, Etsuko! Bye!" he called back before disappearing from the other three's point of view for good.

Rena went off not too long after, leaving just Hisao and Etsuko walking the path to their house. "Hey, Hisao. You were talking quite a bit with Rena," Etsuko said to her younger brother.

Hisao jumped, embarrassed. "Y-Yeah. She's my friend now. We made friends the other day. You know… when you told me to go make friends with the other people…" he explained.

She gave him a stern look, staring directly into her brother's purple eyes. "Hisao, I hope you realize that-"

Hisao frowned. "Yes, I know nee-chan. Stop reminding me already," he spoke in a tone that almost sounded unfriendly to the pink-haired girl.

"I just want to make sure you keep that in mind for the next week or two, alright?" she said. She used a free hand to gently touch her brother's shoulder. "I don't want to cause something painful." Hisao only nodded at his sister's words. "It's not that I dislike you, Hisao. I want to protect you. So that's why I'm doing this. I hope you understand."

Once again, nodded his head. "Yeah, I know nee-chan. I will obey whatever you say…"

~~~X~~~

The two twin sisters opened the front door to their house. The two of them were greeted by a wonderful scent coming from their kitchen. It had seemed like a forever since the two of them had smelt the familiar scent of their grandmother's cooking. They both placed their bags down, their arms aching from holding such heavy objects for what seemed to them like a whole day.

"We're home, Batcha!" Mion called as she pulled her shoes and socks off her feet.

A rather frail voice sounded out from not too far away. "Ah, Mion! I was expecting you two to come home a little earlier."

Mion pushed her socks into her shoes and slide them off to the side of the doorway. "Ah, I'm sorry Batcha. We ended up taking a bit longer than expected since we had so much stuff to carry," she responded. Shion only gave a wary glance to the hallway leading over to the kitchen before wandering off with her bags in the other direction to their room. She wanted nothing to do with her grandmother, as they still were on shaky terms.

The figure of her grandmother appeared at the front of the hallway. "That's alright, Mion. I just have an errand I want you to do for me," she spoke to her granddaughter.

"Ah, what would that be, Batcha?" she asked her.

"I want you to go to Kimiyoshi's house to discuss the upcoming Watanagashi festival. I'm making some ohagi for you to deliver to them as well. Kiichirou deserves it after all his hard work, after all," she explained, titling her head towards the kitchen where the ohagi was currently being made. "It shouldn't be too much longer until the ohagi is ready. Just wait until then, okay?"

Mion nodded. "I'll do it, Batcha. After all, it's been a while since I've been to the Kimiyoshi place," she replied.

The two of them walked down the vast hallway towards the kitchen. The hallways of the Sonozaki Manor were decorated with many portraits of the past Sonozaki heads as well as pictures of the current family. Each past head seemed to have an eerie and serious feel about them. Some days, Mion would wonder if any of the past Sonozaki heads were ever carefree and fun to hang out with. Of course, it was impossible just to tell by a simple portrait.

The smell of her grandmother's ohagi became strong as she neared the kitchen and finally entered it. Mion, just hang on a bit and I'll wrap them up…"

Just as she said, the ohagi took no more than ten minutes to finish wrapping and were then placed into a nicely decorated box. With shaky hands, her grandmother handed the box of ohagi. "Tell Kiichirou I said hi, alright?"

Mion nodded. "I will," she spoke before bowing to her grandmother and heading back to the doorway. Carefully, she set the ohagi down beside her shoes before she pulled her white socks out of them. After putting on her socks, she pulled her shoes on and picked up the box of ohagi. "I'm off!" she cried out so that both her grandmother and her sister could hear before she exited the large house.

It hadn't even been fifteen minutes since Mion last walked down the dusty path. The path was uninhabited by people, probably because most of them were in front of the Furude Shrine beginning to set up for the upcoming Watanagashi festival.

It wasn't too long until Mion reached the front of the Kimiyoshi Manor. The Kimiyoshi house was quite large, though it could not compare to the Sonozaki Manor in terms of size and elegance. Gently, the green-haired girl knocked on the door.

Two minutes later, the door slowly creaked open to reveal a middle-aged man standing behind it. "Oh! Mion-chan! It's been a while since I've seen you!" he spoke. "My, my, you've gotten so big and much more feminine looking!" he marveled, his voice full of shock.

Mion gave the man a grin. "It's been a while since I've seen you, Kazuhiro-san! You've grown quite a bit, as well," she observed. She lifted up her hand and titled it so that it was completely flat. She then raised her hand up to the height of the man named Kazuhiro and measured the difference between their heights. "You're quite a bit taller than me, though not as tall as I remember!"

Kazuhiro laughed. "Ahaha! Well when I last saw you, you were only thirteen years old! How old are you now? Twenty?" he spoke, grinning.

"Nope! I'm only seventeen. Man, did you lose count of the years when you were studying in Okinomiya?" Mion joked playfully.

"Haha! I just might have," chuckled the man. This man was named Kimiyoshi Kazuhiro, the son and the heir of the Kimiyoshi family.

After the two of them had finished laughing and poking fun at each other, Kazuhiro asked, "Mion-chan, what brought you here, anyways?"  
The green-haired female looked down at the box of ohagi she was holding. "Ah, Batcha told me to come here to talk to your father about the Watanagashi festival. Is he here right now?" she answered.

Kazuhiro nodded. "I'll tell him that you've come," he said. The brown-haired man whipped around so that he could call into the house, "Dad! Mion came!"

Footsteps could be heard walking towards closer. "Ah? Mion-chan is here?" an old, gruff voice spoke. "What might she be here for?"

The old man eventually reached the front of the door. "Oh, hello Mion-chan! It's a surprise to see you here. I see that Oryou-san has made some ohagi," he greeted, looking down at the fancy box Mion was holding closely to her chest.

Mion couldn't help but smile at the sight of Kimiyoshi Kiichirou. He was an old man indeed; his head was mostly bald and his eyes almost always lay shut. However, Kiichirou had been fond of Mion when she was a little girl since she was so mischievous. He was almost like a friend to Mion. "Hello, Kimiyoshi~! My Batcha told me to come here to deliver this ohagi and discuss the upcoming Watanagashi festival with you," she spoke to him with a bow of the head.

"Well well, come in! We will be glad to have you," he welcomed, holding the door open for Mion to walk in. She thanked him as she stepped into the house and took off her shoes. "Kazuhiro, please make us some tea," he ordered his son. Kazuhiro bowed respectfully to him before he wandered off to the kitchen to do as he was told. "Mion-chan, just follow me. We can discuss in the dinning room."

Mion followed the old man to his dinning room. It was a very well decorated room with beautiful paintings on all of the walls. He sat down on one of the many cushions bordering the large table in the center and pointed to the one across from him, which Mion took as a signal for her to sit down. She placed the box containing the ohagi on the table and pushed it gently to the center. "If I'm correct, the Watanagashi is on the seventeenth," she spoke.

Kiichirou nodded. "That's right. The Watanagashi is on the seventeenth of this month. That leaves us with about two weeks to prepare."

"Kimiyoshi, do you know what attraction stands we will be having this year?" she asked him. Of course, Mion was planning to have the Battle of the Evil Six this year. She was once again planning to cheat at the games this year and needed to know what attractions there were to make up strategies.

Kazuhiro slid open the sliding door, carrying two cups of tea. Steam rose from the top of the cups in a wave that almost made it seem like a ghost. He placed one of the cups in front of his father and the other in front of Mion. The cups were quite fancy and she figured that they must have been quite expensive. He then bowed to the both of the, and left the room. "I do believe that we will be having the usual activities. The shooting gallery will be there, I can assure you of that," he answered as he slowly took a sip of the piping hot tea. He flinched at the temperature of the tea and his usually shut eyes opened from the shock. "Aha, I should have seen that coming…"

Mion reached to take a sip of the tea but stopped once she saw Kiichirou's reaction. She eyed the steaming tea suspiciously and drew her hand back, deciding that she'd wait for it to cool off. "Ah, I see. Well just let this old man know when you are informed of all the booths that there will be. I gotta know what's going to be there," she said.

Kiichirou chuckled. "Are you planning on having a giant contest with your friends again?" he asked her. "Just don't get in trouble like you did two years ago, Mion-chan."

Mion sighed as she remembered the "incident" two years ago. "Right, we won't this time, I promise. That was just… oh never mind," she muttered.

Kiichirou laughed. "It's alright, Mion-chan. You were such a youngster back then. You've grown up so much that I can't believe you were once a little kid," he reminisced.

Mion rubbed the back of her head. She always felt embarrassed talking about her little self to adults for some reason. The village elders would always gush about how adorable she was when she was little and how much they adored her back then. "Y-Yeah, I guess so. Ahaha…" she replied, feeling a little awkward.

Kiichirou took a sip of his now warm tea and swallowed it. "Is there anything that Oryou-san wanted to ask about the Watanagashi in particular?" he asked her.

Mion shook her head and shrugged. "I'm actually not sure about that. Batcha didn't tell me what she wanted me to discuss with her. She just told me that she wanted me to discuss the upcoming Watanagashi festival with you and to give you the ohagi she made," she admitted.

"Ah, I see. I don't think there's any particular concerns about the upcoming Watanagashi, are there not? It looks like it will be a peaceful year," he spoke before putting the cup of tea he was holding on the table. It was still a little too hot for his liking.

Mion nodded. "It should be the best Watanagashi in a very long time! I assume that Rika-chan is doing the ceremony again, yes?" she said. Carefully, she wrapped her fingers around the handle of the cup containing the tea. She brought the rim of the cup to her mouth and slowly poured a little into her mouth, allowing herself to taste the liquid inside.

The memory of Rika doing the ceremony last year popping into Mion's mind. She had been the highlight of last year's Watanagashi. It seemed to everyone that had seen her performing the cotton drifting ceremony that she had done it a million times already and had completely perfected it. "Yes yes! Rika-chama did such an amazing job last year. All the elders of the village were so proud of her, including myself!" he complimented.

Mion smiled. "I bet that she will be ten times better this year!" she said. "Actually, I take that back. I doubt Rika-chan could get any better."

Kiichirou couldn't help but laugh a little. "Yes. That little one is so good at the ceremony. Even Rima-san wasn't as good as her after years of doing it herself when she was still alive!" he said, remembering Rika's mother who had passed away only three years ago.

"Hehe, I remember Rika's mother doing the ceremony. She was quite good at it, wasn't she?" Mion spoke as she tried to recall the memory of Rika's mother, Rima, doing various chores at the Watanagashi festival as well as the ceremony.

Kiichirou let out a hearty laugh, though it was tainted with gruffness from his old age. "You should have seen Rima was she was just a little girl. Quite amazing, though not as good as Rika. I feel quite bad about saying such a thing, though!" he spoke.

Mion glanced to the small window, hardly noticeable against the extravagant paintings on the walls. "Ah, it's getting about time for me to return to my house," she realized. Her senses were telling her that it was getting to be around one PM.

Kiichirou nodded. "That's alright, Mion-chan. Please see me if Oryou-san has anymore concerns about the festival. I will be happy to answer them," he said to her.

Slowly, Mion rose out of her seat and brushed off her jeans. "If you will excuse me, Kimiyoshi," she said, bowing to the old man who was still sipping his tea. She slid open the sliding door and exited the room, heading to the front.

"Ah, Mion-chan, leaving already?" Kazuhiro asked her. He was carrying what looked like a bunch of fliers advertising the Watanagashi festival in his arms.

She nodded to him sadly. "Yeah, I'm afraid that I've got to get heading back to my house now. I'll see you at the Watanagashi, Kazuhiro-san!" she said, waving to the man.

Kazuhiro frowned. "Ah, well that's a shame. Tell Shion-chan that I said hi, all right? See ya!" he told to her before wandering away with the heavy stack of fliers.

"Yeah, see ya!" Mion said before exiting the house for good.

~~~X~~~

Keiichi wandered to the Furude Shrine, bored. "I wonder if they're setting up for the Watanagashi already?" he spoke to himself as he glanced around at the empty paths running through Hinamizawa. He could find no other possible explanation as to why the paths were completely deserted. Usually, he would run into four or five villagers who would wave him a quick hello whenever he went to the Furude Shrine. However, now, the paths lacked any life besides from him.

Eventually, he reached the giant shrine and found quite a bustle. People were busy raising flags up that read _Hinamizawa_ or_ Watanagashi Festival_. He scratched his head as he watched the villagers continue with their hard work. _Were they setting up this early last year? Odd._

"Hello, Maebara-san," an all too familiar voice called to him. Keiichi froze as soon as he heard that voice. He wasn't sure whether or not to be scared or to be happy. Slowly, he turned around to meet the eyes of the person who had just called his name.

"It's been a while, Ooishi-san," he greeted. He sounded a little shaky, a fact that he hoped the old policeman named Ooishi wouldn't notice.

Ooishi let out a hearty chuckle as he took his cigarette out of his mouth and smiled. "It certainly has, Maebara-san. I was beginning to miss Hinamizawa a little," he admitted. However, to Keiichi, his voice sounded a lot like he was lying.

That's when Keiichi remembered something. "Hold on a moment, Ooishi-san. I thought you retired after we solved the chain of mysterious murders and saved Rika-chan from Takano," he pointed out.

Ooishi put the cigarette back in his mouth and grinned. A flurry of smoke escaped into the atmosphere as he did so. "Well, about that. I came here to make sure that the murders have really gone away. After all, you don't know what could happen when all the policemen are away from this area thinking that the murders are gone for good," he explained as he dunked his hands into his pockets on his taupe pants.

Before Ooishi had left Hinamizawa to go retired for good, he had been on good terms with the club, including Mion who previously couldn't stand the very presence of the guy. However, now, hearing his reasoning for coming back, Keiichi couldn't help but get a little mad at him. "Ooishi, there aren't going to be anymore murders. Hinamizawa is a peaceful village now," he growled.

Once again, Ooishi let out a laugh. "You never know, Maebara-san. After all, it is the seventh year."

Keiichi rolled his eyes. "No, you have that wrong. It's the sixth year since the first year of the bizarre chain of deaths," he reminded the old police officer, finding it ridiculous that he couldn't even remember that after looking for the culprit for years.

"You are partially correct there, Maebara-san," he replied as he took the cigarette out of his mouth and threw it at the floor before smudging it into the ground, causing Keiichi to wince at his lack of sanitariness, "it is the sixth year since the head of the dam construction was murdered, but it is the seventh year since the first murder on the night of the Watanagashi festival."

"W-What?" was all Keiichi could say. This was the first time anyone had told him of a murder that happened before the first year of Oyashiro-sama's Curse. As far as he had known, the Watanagashi was free of crime before then.

Ooishi swiped a cigarette from the pocket, twirling it in his fingers. "It's an incident most people don't like to talk about. Either that, or an incident that people haven't even heard of before."

"Tell me what happened!" Keiichi demanded.

The old police officer lit the cigarette he had been playing with and stuck it in his mouth. "It's a very strange, sad, and gruesome incident. Do you still want to know?" he asked him.

Keiichi nodded quickly. "Of course I want to know! It can't be as gruesome as the first year of Oyashiro-sama's curse, after all."

Ooishi wore a grim expression on his face. "It happened on the year before the first year of Oyashiro-sama's curse on the night of the Watanagashi festival, as you already know. The victim was a small child, around the age of twelve. He was found deep in the woods of Hinamizawa, dead with wounds completely covering his body from head to toe," he began to explain. "The strange thing is that the wounds looked like nothing a human could do. There were five giant lines going up and down his body a long with many other wounds, like the claw markings of some kind of animal."

Keiichi's blue eyes widened at the gruesome tale. "Some kind of… animal?" he repeated in disbelief.

Ooishi nodded. "Yes, some kind of animal. Of course, that may or may not be true. It could have easy been slashes from a knife," he told him as looked down at the floor and kicked some of the dirt scattered on the path.

"Were there any other victims?" Keiichi asked.

Ooishi sighed. "Yes. There were three girls who were severely injured with similar wounds. One of the three died from blood loss in the hospital twenty-four hours after. The other two were hospitalized and went under treatment. They barely made it," he told the brown-haired boy.

It took a little while for Keiichi to process this information. Who would kill a small child? Takano was the only one he had ever heard of that had attempted to kill children, but for some reason Keiichi doubted that she killed the kids. It just didn't seem necessary for her to do that. "Wait, why isn't this counted as one of the years of Oyashiro-sama's curse?" he asked.

"That's quite simple. First of all, according to the villagers, Oyashiro-sama only cursed people after the Dam War had finished. Second of all, the police officers didn't fully investigate the death. I told you that it looked like an animal had killed them, yes? Well we assumed that that was the case and let it be. There wasn't anyone for us to arrest," he explained.

Keiichi shuddered at Ooishi's words. Some kind of animal killed them? To him, that seemed extremely brutal. "I see. Thank you for telling me, Ooishi-san…"

Ooishi smiled. "No problem. I'm just here to make sure that we don't have a repeat, all right? I myself doubt that anyone is going to be killed. After all, we managed to find the truth behind Oyashiro-sama's curse last year," he replied. Another cloud of smoke filled the air, and Keiichi suppressed a cough, as it would be rude.

"I'm off, then," Keiichi said, wanting to get as far away from the police officer as he could.

The brown-haired boy continued to walk around the site of the Watanagashi, watching as more signs were hung up across the grounds. The Furude Shrine was filled with many men laughing and drinking underneath the shade, seemingly taking a break from all the work they had done. Of course, the real work hadn't begun yet. Food stands and other booths were to be set up in about a week, reminding Keiichi of the club activities that Mion was probably planning. _Aha. I really need to win this year. The punishment game last year was doubled and… _Keiichi shook of the memory of the punishment game he had received the year before. It was humiliating to him in so many ways…

_Oh well! I'm going to have to start thinking of strategies now if I'm going to beat Mion at anything this year! Let's see… Mion usually has us eat spicy things really quickly… and also cold and sweet things… Oh yeah! The shooting gallery as well. Also…_

~~~X~~~

Midnight was beginning to engulf Hinamizawa. Rika sat in her windowsill, once again drinking her favorite brand of wine as she gazed at the shining moon. Hanyuu sat below her, invisible to anyone besides the young miko. The both of them had only one thought on their mind.

"The Watanagashi is soon," Rika spoke up.

Hanyuu nodded. "Yes, it'll come quickly," she told her friend. "After all, we have been waiting for this for a long time now, haven't we?"

Rika slowly took a small sip of the wine contained the plastic cup, causing the goddess to feel slightly sick. "Yes. It'll be interesting to see what is to happen this year. After all, it does seem quite eerie around here, doesn't it?" she asked Hanyuu.

The purple-haired girl nodded. "I don't think you should worry too much about it though, Rika. I honestly haven't felt anything eerie like you said," she replied. "Everything is going to be fine…"

Apparently, Rika was quite annoyed at how laid-back Hanyuu was about the whole situation. To show her anger, Rika suddenly gulped down the whole cup of wine in about five seconds. Hanyuu felt her eyes begin to swirl and her stomach begin to get extremely upset. "Stop it! It's disgusting when you drink all that at once!" cried Hanyuu as she sunk down to the floor, unable to remain sitting after all the alcohol Rika had forced her to taste.

"That's what you get for being so calm about the situation, Hanyuu," muttered Rika as she tossed the empty glass aside carelessly.

"I'd slap you if I could, Rika," growled Hanyuu. "You're getting way too concerned about the situation! Takano was defeated, we know the cause behind Oyashiro-sama's curse, I've already proven to you that the previous Hinamizawas aren't going to happen, and no one has been acting strangely!" she snapped at her friend. "So stop it!"

Rika was quite shocked to see her friend this mad at her. Hanyuu almost never got mad at anyone. The last time she had seen Hanyuu so enraged was a year ago, when Takano had tried to shoot Mion. Deciding it was better not to anger Hanyuu anymore, Rika jumped down from the windowsill. "Whatever, Hanyuu. I'm going to bed," she told her.

"No, Rika! We still have things to discuss!" yelled Hanyuu. The blue-haired miko simply ignored her friend as she stuffed herself into her warm futon and closed her eyes. "Stop it Rika, don't go to sleep! I'm not done yet!" she continued to yell. However, Rika had already fallen into a deep sleep, having been exhausted from being woken up so early in the morning. "Au au! Rika!"

~~~X~~~

**Crimso's Corner.**

**Long and boring chapter is long and boring plus extremely important!**

**Don't you dare forget anything that was said in this chapter. Well, perhaps you can forget about the animal-shaped crackers because I don't plan for those to show up again, but otherwise everything is important. **_**Especially**_** the part with the murder of the little kid seven years ago. I cannot begin to explain how important that whole section is. I'm sure you can already tell, though. **

**I bet you guys got bored of all that happened here, right? Sorry, I tried to find a way to make it less boring but it's pretty darn hard when you're writing about a girl having a conversation with an old man. **

**Okay, that being said…**

**I swear, tomboyishness and sanitariness are actually words. My dictionary said so. I don't think dictionaries lie.**

**This chapter was the longest yet. It beats chapter… five? By about a thousand words or so. I don't know... the chapter with Rika and Hanyuu finding the books in the Saiguden. I was actually going to add some more important stuff in but I decided to leave that for next chapter for lack of events in the next chapter besides the big one.**

**That being said, the next chapter is where we really start. I mean, really really start. I told you the camping trip was but that was more like a few revelations and build up. Though that camping trip was pretty darn important too.**

**Let's just say this. Every chapter is damn important. Besides maybe chapter three and chapter eleven which was more of… stuff happening. Got it? Okay, good.**

**Once again, leave a review for me. It's nice to read what you think about the story. And I mean, really nice. I honestly enjoy what you have to say about the fanfiction and it really does motivate me to work harder. So please, review? Thanks.**

**I'll try to update before my break ends. I don't want to go back to school. I'm actually dreading the idea. Plus, I need to film that Spanish project sometime soon...**

**Out.**

**~Crimso**


	14. Chapter 13: Envy

**Okay, so I know I said last chapter that not much happens. But I guess I lied. SO much crap happens in this chapter. I just realized that last night when I was going over what was going to happen. I'm going to see how much of this I can write today because I want to fit one more chapter in before I have to go back to school tomorrow (ew). This chapter might be a little boring, as usual, but I want you to try to pay attention to everything that happens. Okay? Okay. Even I'm having a hard time remembering all the stuff I was going to put in this chapter.**

**With that, let's get started on chapter thirteen, shall we?**

~~~X~~~

The sun was still shining brightly in the sky upon the small village of Hinamizawa. About three quarters of the school day had passed by already. Mion was sitting in front of her desk next to her twin sister Shion as she worked on her math homework. She understood how to do the problems for the most part, though she was making careless errors every here and there as most people usually do. Shion, on the other hand, was almost falling asleep, completely bored of doing random math problems.

"I don't like it, Onee! Can't we learn anything interesting in this class? I'm sick of doing math homework! I'd rather be studying history or something like that!" Shion complained, nearly falling out of her chair as she leaned back with an exhausted expression on her face.

Mion dropped her pencil onto the seemingly endless sheet of paper coated with math problems. "I know how you feel, Shion. Unfortunately, I don't think Chie-sensei has time to give us a proper lesson on anything. She's too busy with the little kids," she replied, gesturing to Chie who was busy teaching a group of little kids how to do various extremely easy formulas.

Shion groaned as she reluctantly went back to doing her math problems. "I don't understand how you do this problem, Onee," she spoke not even seconds after returning to her paper.

The older twin took a look at the problem written on her sister's homework. "I'm sorry, Shion. I'm not even sure how you do that, either," she admitted, mumbling her words.

Shion's fist pounded down on the table with a loud crash. "Damn it! Why the hell does this have to be so damn hard?" she cried out in frustration. She began to violently scratch her head in exasperation, almost tearing her own hair out as she did so.

Looking over to the desk next to her, Mion began to call, "Kei-chan! Come over here and help us with our homework! This makes no sense to us!"

Upon hearing her, the boy sitting a few seats away lifted his head up, away from the paper he was working on. "I'm sorry, Mion. I'm helping Etsuko with her own math homework right now. I don't think that I'll be able to get to you today," he called back to the female before lowering his head.

The green-haired girl made a small growl of annoyance and anger under her breath. _Why is he helping her and not me? Aren't I supposed to be his best friend? _Mion thought. She placed her head on the desk, tired, and decided to watch as Keiichi helped Etsuko with her homework. She chewed on her pencil as she began to listen intently on their conversation.

"So, I just have to subtract here, and then I have to divide here?" Etsuko asked for clarification as she pointed to the problem with the lead tip of her pencil.

Keiichi nodded. "Yup! That's exactly what you have to do. Now, just do that and I'll see if you got the right answer," he told her. Etsuko began to scribble notes on her paper before she went to figure out the problem. "Uhm… the answer is 42, right?" she asked the brown-haired boy.

Keiichi grinned at her. "Yup! You're quite good at this, Etsuko. I don't see why you need any help. You're really smart," he complimented her. Slowly, he reached forward and began to rub Etsuko's pink hair, much like he did to Rena every so often.

Etsuko's face flushed as she looked away from the brown-haired boy. "T-Thank you, Keiichi-kun," she managed to murmur, a slight tremble in her voice.

Meanwhile, the older green-haired girl was still watching the two of them with jealous eyes. _Why? Why doesn't he ever pat MY head? He always pats Rena's, and yet… he's only ever done it to me once or twice... _she thought to herself sadly. She had begun to believe long ago that her love for the brown-haired boy was just a lost cause. Yet, she couldn't help but feel jealous whenever she saw Keiichi pat Rena on the head.

"Onee?" Shion called to her sister. "Come on, Onee, let's see if we can figure out how to do these problems on our own," she spoke, gently nudging her in the side.

Lifting up her head, Mion turned away from Keiichi and Etsuko and looked directly into her sister's identical eyes. "Alright, Shion. I guess that's better than failing math for a fourth time," she replied. The two of them glanced over to their papers with a look of confusion plastered on both of their faces as they read the instructions. _I don't understand any of this. Kei-chan is a much better explainer than this stupid text… _thought Mion as she twirled her pencil and tried to process the confusing information written across the paper to no avail.

A few seats away from them, Rena and Hisao were currently struggling with a similar packet of problems. "Um… I think you're supposed to multiply this by the number right here," guessed Rena, sounding completely unsure.

"Um… I don't think that's what y-you do," Hisao replied. "I-I think… I think… I think you're supposed to um… uh… subtract this number?" he spoke as he pointed to the number in question. "Either that or you're supposed to divide…"

Rena frowned and shook her head. "It's useless. Rena doesn't know what to do and Hisao-kun doesn't know what to do either, hau…" she said in defeat. Rena felt her head slowly collapse into the desk, sending the paper of problems swirling into the air. Hisao acted quickly, grabbing the paper before it could reach the floor and pulling it back to the desk. He laid it flat next to Rena's head and began to read over it himself. "Keiichi-kun is a really good teacher, but he's helping Etsu-chan right now… Hau."

Hisao glanced to his sister sitting with Keiichi. His face instantly darkened at the sight of the two of them happily chatting with each other and smiling. Quickly deciding that it would be best just to not think about his current troubles with his sister, he glanced away. "Yeah, I bet he is," he replied.

Rena was able to catch Hisao's grim expression from out of the corner of her blue eye. "Why does Hisao look so dark, so dark? Is something wrong with Keiichi-kun and Etsu-chan?" she asked him. Slowly, she separated her face from the hard desk to get a better view of the boy.

Hisao shook his head quickly, as if he was trying to remove the expression from his face. "T-There's nothing wrong. I'm just being s-silly again."

Rena looked unconvinced by the black-haired boy's words. She had observed Etsuko's behavior towards her brother several times and was able to figure out that the girl had a rather shaky relationship with her brother. "Hisao-kun, is Etsu-chan being mean to you? I wonder, I wonder," she asked him in her cute and innocent voice. Yet, it was as if that cute voice of her had a drop of darkness mixed into it.

In response to her question, Hisao slowly shook his head. "It's not like that. Nee-chan is just a little too protective of me. She just doesn't want me to get hurt is all," he muttered, his eyes staring down at the gray desk. Subconsciously, he began to play with the edge of the paper to the side of him.

Rena's normally innocent façade was instantly lost upon hearing the black-haired boy's answer. "But even though Etsu-chan is trying to prevent Hisao-kun from getting hurt, Etsu-chan is the one who is hurting Hisao-kun the most of all," she murmured.

A genuinely shocked expression appeared on Hisao's face. "H-How?" he spoke, the normal tremble in his voice intensifying, "How did you know that? H-How could you tell?" he asked her with wide eyes.

Rena gave the black-haired boy a sad smile. "Because, it's obvious by the way Etsu-chan treats Hisao-kun. Etsu-chan doesn't want Hisao-kun to get close to anyone because she's afraid that they will hurt him, right? But Hisao-kun wants to have friends," she responded. "I could tell when you asked me if we wanted to be friends."

Hisao wasn't sure what to say. She had read his thoughts as if they were a book with text large and easy to understand, though she was off on a fact or two. That didn't matter to him, though. The point was that she was able to sense what the black-haired boy was feeling despite his desperate attempts to hide it. "R-Rena…"

Rena placed her hands on the edge of her chair and scooted it so that her chair was facing him. "Do you know what Hisao-kun needs to do now?" she asked her.

At a loss for words, the shy boy's only response was shaking his head. "Well, the first thing that Hisao-kun needs to do learn to stand up to his sister. He can't let Etsu-chan control him for the rest of his life. He needs to tell Etsu-chan that he's going to make his own decisions and that he's not going to let her get in the way. The second thing Hisao-kun needs to do is learn to become stronger so that he can care for himself without having his sister get in the way," she explained to him sternly. "Hisao-kun can become stronger, I know, I know. So Hisao-kun just needs to go forth and grasp that strength," she spoke to him, her voice full of confidence.

"H-How! Tell me how I can, Rena-chan! Tell me what I need to do!" cried Hisao desperately.

Rena shook her head. "I cannot tell you that, Hisao-kun. Hisao-kun needs to go off into the world and figure out how he can conquer his sister's grasp on him himself," she told him.

The black-haired boy looked disappointed and said nothing more. He slumped in his chair and looked rather unsure of himself._ I can't do something like that. Rena-chan's expecting too much of me. B-But… perhaps I can do this one thing…_

~~~X~~~

The rest of class seemed to fly by in a matter of seconds. It was soon the end of school. Young kids bolted out of the classroom like a flock of frightened pigeons while the club members began to set up for club activities.

Today, however, Hisao refused to leave the classroom no matter what. Etsuko, on the other hand, was getting very cross with Hisao, as she wanted to go home as fast as she could.

"Hisao, come on, let's go home. There's no point in staying here any longer," urged Etsuko, taping her sneakers impatiently against the floor with her arms crossed.

Hisao took a few steps away from his sister and shook his head. "I-I don't want to leave, Nee-chan. I want to stay here with the club…" he protested, glancing to the six club members who were in the middle of a deep conversation.

Etsuko frowned. "Hisao, I already told you. I was letting you go a little too far when I let you go hiking in the mountains with Rena. However, I already told you that I don't want you getting close to those guys," she spoke as she gestured to the club members.

But her brother's resolve was strong. He had already decided what he was going to do and that was final. "I told you, Nee-chan. I want to join the club. It's not fair that you're going to join the club and that I'm not," he told her sternly, his voice lost of his nervous stutter that usually infected it.

Etsuko gritted her teeth as she remembered telling Hisao about how she was planning to join the club that day and how he wasn't allowed to for safety reasons. "I do really have to say it again, Hisao? For the last time, it's not because I'm trying to be mean to you. It's because I don't want you to get hurt. This is something I've planned out a long time ago and something I've mentally prepared myself for. You, Hisao, I can't trust. I already know what's going to happen. You're going to get attached to them," she responded, once again blocking him from joining. Like Hisao, her resolve to stop him from joining the club was firm.

"I will not! I know what you're planning, you've told me everything! I know the consequences and I accept them!" he snapped back at his sister, startling her. "I promise you I won't get to close to anyone! So please…" he begged his sister as he fell to his knees. He slowly felt his former confidence slipping away and leaving him with the frightened person he was.

Etsuko sighed. "If you promise me, I will let you," she muttered.

All the confidence that Hisao had lost slowly piled back on him as he looked into his sister's eyes with a look of hope. "Really? Do you really mean that, Nee-chan?" he asked her in disbelief.

Etsuko nodded. "Yes, yes, I really mean it," she sighed. "But you have to stick to your promise that you won't get _too_ close to anyone no matter what. Alright?"

Without hesitating, Hisao nodded. "Yes! I promise you, Nee-chan!" he declared, his tone full of joy. He was finally getting what he wanted for such a long time: friends. For someone like Hisao who had never had any friends before two days ago, he felt like all the happiness in the whole world was all his.

Slowly standing up from the ground, he brushed off his legs and glanced straight at the still bickering club members. As he took a step towards them, he felt his soul grow a tad stronger.

The club members were currently in a long debate over which game they would play that day. Satoko had suggested sympathy again, but Mion had instantly shot that down as they had been playing that quite a bit recently. "Huh? Is there something you need, Hisao-san?" Mion asked him, breaking away from the heated discussion.

Hisao clenched his fists and opened his mouth to speak. However, when he did so, no words came out. He wanted to ask for permission to join the club, to have friends and to have a good time with other people. However, as much as he wanted to ask, he just couldn't. Everyone's eyes were on him, looking confused as to what he wanted to say. Hisao quickly shut his mouth, embarrassed. Why couldn't he speak? Just before, he had felt like the he had the strength to overthrow everyone who dared get in his way. Now, he felt like an ant about to be squished by a rather sadistic human.

Etsuko sighed as she watcher her brother start to tremble violently. She approached the club members and placed a hand gently on Hisao's shoulder as she stood next to him. "He wants to join the club, and so do I," she explained to the very confused pack of club members.

Mion's face instantly lit up. "Of course! Any new members are welcome to the club! However, I'd like to warn you that in this club we don't play any stupid easy games. Our activities are intense! Every battle is to be taken seriously and will be of epic proportions! I will take this opportunity to also let you know that we have a specifically designed system for punishing the loser, as you may or may not already know. Each day, the loser is forced to do a punishment game. Some days, we will have only one punishment game. However, sometimes, we will have a box that contains many punishment games and the loser of each game has to randomly select one. Also, be aware of the fact that you cannot refuse the punishment game. Punishment games range from dressing up to carrying people's bags! We do encourage that you restrain yourself from giving punishment games that are too harsh or perverted. However, cross-dressing is allowed as I don't deem that as too perverted," she explained to them passionately. It instantly became clear to Hisao that this girl took her role as the club leader VERY seriously just from hearing her ramble on about the various rules that the club had and other miscellaneous details that seemed to be of no importance.

Etsuko sighed at the length of Mion's response. "Okay, I understand. There's no reason for you to go on so much. We accept whatever terms you have," she replied.

A wide grin spread across Mion's face. "Good! Good! I like your bravery! You must be extremely tough to just go up and join like that, especially after hearing all those rules!" she spoke in an intimidating manner. Any kind of courage that Hisao had left washed away upon hearing the club leader's words. _Is this club really that rough? M-Maybe Nee-chan was right… Maybe I shouldn't join the club…_

It was already too late. "Alright, Hisao-san, Etsuko! Go pull up a chair and take a seat anywhere. We're still deciding on a game, so you can help us with that," she ordered her two younger classmates. Etsuko nodded and quickly snatched up a nearby chair, pulling it next to Keiichi and then sitting down. Hisao, on the other hand, stood there frozen as if a sudden blizzard had suddenly blown past him.

"Hisao-kun, is there something wrong, wrong?" asked a concerned Rena when Hisao didn't move or change his expression.

"I… Ur… I… um… uh… sit…" was his response, causing Rena to tilt her head.

"I'm not sure what you mean by that, Hisao-kun," Rena replied. Suddenly, she stood up out of her chair and grabbed one placed close by them. She pulled the chair right next to where she had been sitting and lightly patted it, gesturing for him to come and sit down next to her. Hisao nodded and walked over almost robotically to his seat and sat down right next to Rena. The orange-haired girl smiled at the boy sitting next to her. "See, Hisao-kun? I knew you have bravery! You were so brave to join the club!" Rena complimented her friend. Hisao glanced over to her when her compliment reached his ears, and a light blush spread across his face.

"T-Thanks, Rena-chan…"

Little did Hisao know, he had already begun to break the promise he had made.

~~~X~~~

"Alright! Do we have any idea about the game we're playing, now?" asked Mion. It had been at least thirty minutes since Hisao and Etsuko had joined the club, and they still hadn't come to a decision as to what game they were going to play.

"I already told you, I want to play Sympathy again!" Satoko repeated herself for what seemed like the thousandth time. "Keiichi-san is so bad at it! It's fun seeing him fail!"

Rika, who was sitting next to Satoko, patted her friend gently on the head. "Mii, we've played Sympathy a lot. Besides, you shouldn't be so mean to poor Keiichi. Although I must admit that he is terrible…"

Keiichi tried to resist strangling the two young girls sitting across from him. "Come on, you guys! Why do you have to be so mean to me all the time? Aren't we all friends?" he cried out.

Shion waggled a finger at the brown-haired boy sitting a few seats away from her. "Now, now, Kei-chan. They're just teasing you. No need to take it so seriously," she said to him. "On the other hand, Satoko, please try not to be so mean to the poor loser…"

Keiichi practically roared out in anger. "Shion! Not you too!"

Etsuko glanced around at the table of club members. "I don't think you should be so mean to him. That's not nice," she scolded the others.

"Thank you, Etsuko!" Keiichi cried out. Out of sheer happiness from being saved from the others, he hugged her. Etsuko blushed intensely and looked away.

"Uh… It's no problem…" she muttered.

At that moment, something snapped in Mion's mind. She wasn't quite sure what it was, but she knew one thing. She didn't like seeing Keiichi hug this girl. _I wish I had spoken up earlier… perhaps he would have hugged me, then._

Satoko frowned. "Keiichi-san, that was quite random," she commented. Then, an evil thought came to her bratty mind and a smirk found itself on her face. "Do you like Etsuko-san? Huh?" she asked him.

At that very moment, Keiichi let go of the pink-haired girl. "Hey you, Satoko! Don't go thinking that I like everyone that I hug!" he snapped at her.

Satoko let out one of her signature shrill laughs. "Ohohohohoho! Perhaps you like Rena-san, then? I can see it now!" she spoke as she began to imagine the brown-haired boy and the orange-haired girl as a couple. "Rena-san would constantly be trying to take Keiichi-san home… and then we wouldn't be able to see him because he'd always be with Rena! Ohohohohoho! "

Keiichi was getting very irritated with Satoko's behavior, yet he couldn't help but blush a little at what Satoko was saying simply from how perverted the idea was. "No! Stop making up stupid stories like that, Satoko!" he yelled to her. _Besides, I don't like Rena or Etsuko! I like Mion! _He thought, glancing towards the green-haired girl, who sat there looking enraged for some reason he couldn't point out.

"Alright, alright! That's enough; we don't need to tease Kei-chan any longer! Now let's get down to the club activities!" Mion called out in attempt to change the subject away from Keiichi's love life.

"I still think we should play Sympathy," Satoko spoke, leaning back in her chair.

Rena shook her head. "Hau… I'm bad at sympathy too… I think. I think we should play Old Geezer," she suggested.

Rika quickly shook her head. "Old Geezer is getting a little boring. How about if we play Clue?" she spoke.

"I personally love Clue, but there's just too many people here to play it with. How about if we just play a really simply game?" Shion spoke up.

Keiichi crossed his arms and shut his blue eyes in deep thought. "Hm… but what kind of simple game would that be, Shion?"

Mion crossed her arms over her large chest and sighed. "Alright! Let's just go for the most simple card game there is!" she yelled out. At this point, the debate was just growing tedious.

Shion raised an eyebrow at her sister. "And what game would that be, Onee?" she asked curiously.

A dark chuckle sounded out from the older green-haired girl's mouth. "The one and only card game that absolutely everyone knows! It's a game that is played by young children and adults across the world! Go Fish!" she cried out as she spun around in a dramatic fashion and pulled a deck of cards out of nowhere.

Keiichi scratched his head. "I do recall playing that game with you back when Shion and Rena were sick," he spoke, flashing back to the day where Rena and Shion had both been sick and he had ended up doing club activities alone with Mion. "Though it's certainly a basic game…"

Shion nodded her head in agreement. "Yes, yes. I've played this game several times with Onee when we were little girls. We thought it was the best thing since sliced bread besides playing with stuffed toys," she said.

Mion began to shuffle the cards as fast as she could, causing Satoko to get slightly dizzy at the speed. It took her about fifteen seconds to finish shuffling. Then, she began to deal the cards to each person by literally throwing each card at them. Once each person had received seven cards, she placed the remaining cards in the center.

"Alright, Satoko starts. We'll go clockwise around the table. Feel free to ask whoever you want," Mion spoke to the club members.

Satoko nodded as she looked through the seven cards in her hand. Mion had already put down two cards as she had gotten a match from the cards she had given herself. None of the other people's cards matched, which meant that Mion was at an advantage already. "Rika, do you have any threes?" she asked her friend.

Rika smiled. "Yes I do! Clap, clap, clap!" she spoke while clapping her hands together. She picked out the three from the cards she was holding and handed it to Satoko, who then placed her pair of threes down. It was then Rika's turn. "Mii, Rena, do you have any sixes?" she asked.

Rena looked through her cards. Her blue eyes widened when she came across a six in her hand. "Oh yes, Rena does, Rena does!" she replied before handing Rika the card that read _six._

It was Shion's turn next. "Okay. Satoko, do you happen to have any tens?" Satoko frowned as she forfeited the card with the number ten written on it.

Mion's turn was after Shion's. "Kei-chan, do you have any threes?" she asked the boy sitting rather far away from her. Keiichi grumbled as he slid the three card he had been holding across the table. Mion happily snatched it up and placed it down with her three card. "Yes! That makes me have four!"

So far, Mion was winning with four cards remaining with most people tied for second place with six cards. "Hau! Hisao-kun, do you have any fours?" she asked the boy sitting right next to her. Hisao glanced through his cards and nervously nodded his head. Slowly, he removed the card from his right hand and shakily handed it to the girl. Rena grinned as she slapped the card down on the table along with her own four card.

Hisao was next, as he sat next to Rena. "U-Uh… Rena-chan… do you have any… um… twos?" he asked her, looking through the cards he was holding.

Rena smiled and nodded before gently giving Hisao the two card. "Now that means I only have four cards! I'm tied with Mi-chan! Hau!"

Etsuko glanced through the cards in her hand, wondering which card to pick. "Keiichi-kun, do you happen to have any eights?" she asked him.

Keiichi grinned widely as he looked through his cards. "Nope! I don't have any eights. Go fish, Etsuko!" Etsuko grumbled as she picked up a card from her pile and added it to her hand, now having eight cards.

"Alright! Let's see…" Keiichi said as he scanned the club members at the table. Who was he going to pick? "Satoko! Do you happen to have any fours?" he asked her in attempt to scare her for revenge against trying to humiliate him previously.

Satoko glanced at the hand of cards and nodded, annoyed. "Here you go, Keiichi-san," sighed Satoko as she tossed her card at Keiichi.

It was now Satoko's turn once again. "Okay! Keiichi-san, do you have any ones?" she asked him.

Keiichi shook his head. "Nope! Go Fish, Satoko!" he cried out. He was getting rather lucky this time, he noted. Last time, it had just been him and Mion. He figured that since there were more people this time that the game was easier. Perhaps this time, he could actually win this game. Mion and Rena, however, were ahead of him with four cards. _Okay! Maybe if I get lucky just this once, I can win this thing! As long as Mion doesn't win again, I'm fine. It would be nice to see someone other than her win. Not that I don't… like her…_

It was now Rika's turn. "Mii, does Mii have any twos?" asked Rika as she looked at the cards in her hand. Mion frowned as she reached across her sister and handed Rika the card. Rika took the card in her tiny hand and set it down. "Mii, I got another pair!" she spoke cheerfully.

Shion was up next. "Onee, I know you have a seven there…"

Mion cursed under her breath as she handed her sister the seven card. "Stupid Shion! You were cheating again!" she accused her sister.

Shion smirked as she paired up the two cards and set them down on her desk. "Cheating? You were just holding your cards a little too far away from your face. I just happened to accidently get a peak," replied Shion in her faked innocent tone. Shion always attempted to make her voice sound nice and polite when she was talking, though in truth her voice sounded exactly like Mion's.

Mion looked at the club members, trying to decide who to ask for a card. Then, an idea came to her mind. "Etsuko, do you have any eights?' she asked her, remembering how Etsuko had previously asked Keiichi if he had any eights. Etsuko sighed as she tossed the eight card at Mion who happily snatched it up. "Yes! I only have one card left!"

Rena finished her turn, having failed to match a pair and instead receiving another card. Hisao managed to take away that newly gained card from Rena with his matching card during his turn. Afterwards, Etsuko had yet again failed to get a card from Keiichi and once again had only eight cards. Keiichi managed to pair a card from Shion's deck. Rika and Satoko both failed to make any matches and ended up having to take away a card from the pile. Luckily, Rika managed to pick up the card she had asked for and made a match. Shion took away a card from Satoko's deck and managed to leave herself with only three cards remaining.

However, it was already too late for everyone else. Mion smirked as she turned to her sister and spoke, "Shion, I know that you have a queen. It looks like _you_ have to hold your cards closer to your face!"

Shion frowned as she gave her queen card to her twin. With that, Mion had won the game yet again. "Hehe! It looks like this old man wins once again! Now who has the most cards remaining?"  
Etsuko frowned as she looked around at the other members. She was the only one who had eight cards, the most of anyone else. "It looks like I'm the loser," she said. "What's the punishment game?"

The club leader smirked at the pink-haired girl's innocent question. "Well, we haven't decided on one just yet. How about if we have a vote?" she suggested to the club members.

Satoko once again decided that it would be appropriate to let out a daunting laugh. "Ohohohohoho! I think that the punishment game should be severe as she lost with SO many members! How about if we have her work at Angel Mort?"

Shion pondered the younger girl's idea for a few seconds. "Well, I certainly don't mind having another pair of hands. Those perverts can get quite feisty at times."

Mion slid from her chair and trudged over to her locker, filled to the top with various outfits and games for the club. Ever so carefully, she opened the door, making sure that nothing spilled out in the process. She was the only one that could ever open that locker. A waterfall of games and clothing instantly pummeled anyone else who tried to do so. Rena and Satoko among others had learned this the hard way.

"Nah, I think that we should just go for the normal punishment game and have her wear one of the many maid outfits," Mion replied as she pulled out an extremely skimpy uniform, which rivaled Angel Mort uniforms in terms of how revealing it was. "Etsuko, go to the bathroom and get changed into this," she ordered the slightly younger girl. Etsuko sighed and snatched up the maid uniform before wandering off the girl's bathroom to change into the uniform. Mion turned back to the locker and rummaged through the various outfits once the girl had left the room. "Satoko, I hope you remember that you lost the game back at the campgrounds," she spoke as she picked out a small maid outfit that was made specifically to fit the yellow-haired girl.

Satoko yelped as she attempted to hide herself behind Shion, hoping that she would protect her. However, Shion just slowly shook her head. "Onee, please don't be too rough on her, alright?"

Realizing that Shion wasn't going to be of any help to her, Satoko jumped up in the air and ran about the classroom in order to avoid being caught by the older green-haired girl. Mion sighed as she hung the small maid uniform back in the locker and began to pursuit the blonde girl. This chase continued on for what seemed like hours before Mion finally caught the younger girl and dragged her back to the table. "Shion, please go with her to make sure she changes into the maid uniform," she requested.

Shion nodded, grabbing Satoko gently by the hand before she snatched the small maid uniform hanging from a hook with the other one. "I'm sorry, Satoko," she murmured before she dragged the unwillingly girl down the hallway to the bathroom.

A few minutes later, Shion, Etsuko, and Satoko returned. The maid uniform didn't fit Etsuko too well and was quite revealing. Satoko's, on the other hand, fit her quite nicely and was in no way revealing. Mion had figured that it would be quite inappropriate to dress up Satoko in anything revealing as she WAS only slightly younger than Rika.

"Alright! Etsuko, Satoko, make sure you don't take those off before you go home!" Mion reminded the two girls clad in maid uniforms. They both sighed and nodded at the green-haired girl, both of them dying to rip off the uniforms as it was rather uncomfortable to wear.

Etsuko and Hisao were the first to exit the classroom, leaving behind the original club members. They all worked together to set their desks back up to their places and clean up the classroom. Chie-sensei allowed them to stay after school under the one and only condition that they would clean up after the rest of the class when they were done.

After all that work was done, they all left the classroom and walked through the halls of the school before stepping into the fresh afternoon air. They hadn't even taken a single step outside before something, or rather; someone suddenly flew down from out of nowhere.

"Wherever Satoko follows, I shall go! Especially when she's wearing a maid uniform!" cried out the man who had just landed on two feet in front of the club members. Usually, you'd expect someone to be shocked by someone suddenly jumping out in front of you. However, none of the club members looked surprised in the slightest.

"Director!" Satoko spoke, identifying the man as Irie Kyousuke, the local doctor of Hinamizawa. "What are you doing here?"

Irie pushed his glasses up as they began to fall down his face. "Ah, Satoko-chan~! You're just so adorable today! I came here to see you, of course~!" he answered. He beginning to act like some crazed fan boy who had just seen their idol walking past them.

Satoko sighed at the man in front of her. "Director, I highly doubt that's the case," she replied.

Irie dropped his rather perverted behavior and looked away from Satoko's purple eyes. "Okay, you're right Satoko-chan. I actually came here to see Shion-san."

Shion looked rather surprised at the sudden mention of her name. "Director? You came here to see me?" she repeated in disbelief.

The doctor nodded quickly. "Yes. I wanted you to come over to the clinic with me. Can you do that?" he asked her. "Of course, that's okay if you can't. Just let me know when you can and I'll arrange some other time for you to visit."

Shion shook her head. "No, I'm free right now," she answered, wondering what Irie needed from her. "Onee, please go home without me. Tell Onibaba that I'll be there in a little bit if she asks," she told her sister.

Irie grinned. "Okay, Shion-san! We'll go as soon as I take care of one last thing…" his eyes fixed on the yellow-haired girl standing behind Rika in attempt to hide from the doctor. "Satoko-chan~! Please let me take you home with me!" he begged, throwing his arms out for emphasis.

Sighing, the girl clad in a maid outfit shook her head. "I'm sorry, Director. I have got to go home so me and Rika can cook dinner," she informed the man. While this was most certainly true for the most part, Satoko didn't actually have to cook dinner until about an hour later and was just making up an excuse so she could avoid being smothered by the maid-obsessed doctor.

Irie looked rather upset by Satoko's declination. "Ah, well that's just too bad then. Shion-san and I will be going, now. I hope you can join me wearing a maid outfit some other time! See ya!" he spoke before taking Shion and wandering off to the clinic.

Satoko let out another sigh and crossed her arms. "Why does Director want me to dress up in a maid uniform so badly? I don't get it!" she whined.

Rika patted her friend gently on the head. "Mii, Irie is just a huge fan of maids, Satoko." Rika's explanation, however, did nothing to cure Satoko of her confusion.

"Oh well, it doesn't really matter. Rika, let's just head home now," Satoko muttered. She then took Rika's small hand in her own and began to walk down the dusty path towards their house.

~~~X~~~

It wasn't long until Satoko and Rika had reached the center of the village where various villagers were beginning Watanagashi preparations. The whole area around the Furude Shrine was bustling with people as they hoisted heavy materials and chatted amongst themselves.

"I can't wait until the Watanagashi!" cried out Satoko in excitement. "What about you, Rika? Are you excited for the festival?" she asked her friend.

Rika, however, was feeling the opposite of what Satoko was. She was not at all excited for the Watanagashi. She still had her suspicions about what was to come and was quite worried. What if their perfect Hinamizawa was messed up beyond repair? Hanyuu was running dry of power, so restarting the world was out of the question. Besides, who knows what kind of world they could end up in?

"I told you, Rika! Stop worrying!" cried Hanyuu, who was standing on the other side of Rika. The miko, however, decided to ignore her friend and continued to think about all the possible things that could go wrong. The goddess began to flail her arms and stomp in frustration, much like how she did whenever someone insulted Oyashiro-sama. "Rika! Listen to me!"

Satoko instantly noticed her friend's strange behavior. "Rika, is there something wrong? Aren't you excited for the festival?" she asked once again, prodding her in the stomach gently.

Rika faked a smile at her friend. "Of course I'm excited for the Watanagashi festival! After all, we'll be having a giant club battle! Nipah~!" she replied in a fake joyful tone.

The blonde-haired girl nodded. "Of course! Now that Hisao-san and Etsuko-san are a part of the club, we'll be having The Battle of the Evil Eights!" she spoke. "This year, I'm gonna be prepared for whatever Mion-san throws at us! I bet we'll be spending a lot of time seeing who can eat the most of something fastest! Mion-san and Shion-san are really good at that…"

Rika smiled as pleasant memories from the past worlds flooded her. Though each world she'd spend in darkness and in despair, there would be happy times as well. The Watanagashi could be a cheerful time depending on her mood, and she often enjoyed Mion's club activities.

Their peaceful discussion, however, was then interrupted. "Well, hello there Furude-san and Houjou-san!" greeted the old policeman walking towards them.

Rika's eyes widened. _Wait a moment; wasn't he supposed to have retired? _"Mii, Ooishi-san, what are you doing here?"

The old police officer chuckled, removing his cigarette from his mouth and emitting smoke into the air. "I came back here just to check up on here. Who knows if there's going to be another murder…" he answered.

Rika stiffened. So that meant she wasn't the only one with suspicions? Perhaps something really _was_ going to happen. The very thought of dying again scared Rika to her very core. "Ooishi-san, the Curse of Oyashiro-sama is over. Do you really think that there's going to be another murder then?" she asked him, though she did not sound hostile or threatened at the fact that Ooishi was suspecting her village.

Ooishi was quite surprised by her reaction. He had been sure that Furude Rika, the head of the Furude family, would be angered at the idea of another chain of murders. "Well, not really. I just came to make sure. I actually am doubting the idea of such happening," he replied as he stuck his cigarette back into his mouth.

Hanyuu glanced at her friend, who looked like she still had her doubts. "See, Rika? Even Ooishi-san doesn't believe that someone will get hurt!" she told her. "Ooishi-san was the one that suspected the large chain of murders this whole loop, don't you remember?"

A cloud of cigarette smoke blew into Rika's face, causing her to cough violently. She covered her mouth and face with her arm and managed to squeak out, "I thought you went far away, though."

Ooishi nodded. "I did, but I came back just for this Watanagashi. If it's peaceful, the village will be glad to know that I will never come back here," he spoke, his voice distorted by old age. "However, if it's not, I will stick around for quite a while longer."

Satoko tilted her head to the side, her eyes filled with confusion. "I don't think anything of that sort is going to happen. So you should just enjoy yourself at home, Ooishi-san," she responded.

Ooishi let out a hearty laugh. "I'd love to do that, Houjou-san," he spoke. He took out his cigarette and crunched it up, despite it being only halfway finished. "Though I would like to assure the protection of Hinamizawa."

Rika's eyes narrowed. _He really does think something is going to happen, doesn't he?_ she thought.

The sound of loud footsteps approaching the trio quieted anything Rika was going to say. A tall, muscular man stopped next to Ooishi's side, a small boy around Rika's age holding onto the man's large hand. "Ah, Ooishi-san. I was looking for you," he spoke. The young boy looked into the eyes of the old policeman and drew a little closer to the man's side, presumably scared of him. The blue-haired girl and the yellow-haired girl looked over to the two men and then to the young boy clutching who seemed to be his father's side.

Ooishi's vision broke away from the two young girls in front of him as he turned to look at the black-haired man. "Ah, Akasaka-san! I'm sorry, I got distracted talking to these two children here," he responded, gesturing to Satoko and Rika.

The man named Akasaka smiled at the sight of the two girls. He let the boy's hand fall out of his own and bent down on his knees so that his height leveled Satoko and Rika's. "Hello, Rika-chan, Satoko-chan. It's been quite a while, hasn't it?"

Rika's eyes widened with joy at the sight of the man in front of her. "Akasaka!" she cried out as she ran forward into the man's arms. "Akasaka, Akasaka!" she repeated into his chest over and over again, her voice muffled by his shirt.

Akasaka smiled. "I'm glad to see that you remember me, Rika-chan," he spoke to her as he began to stroke the small girl's blue hair. Satoko frowned at her friend's strange behavior. Slightly embarrassed, she looked away to the small boy who then caught sight of the yellow-haired girl.

Rika pulled out of Akasaka's embrace and looked at the policeman with a slightly worried expression. "Did you come here to make sure that no one is going to die as well?" she asked him.

Akasaka nodded. "Yeah. I came here with my wife, my daughter, and I also brought my son along with me," he answered her, his sight wandering to the boy out of the corner of his eye.

Puzzled, the miko looked into the black eyes of the black-haired boy, resembling Akasaka in almost every way. "Akasaka, I didn't know you had a son," Rika spoke.

Akasaka stood up, brushing off his knees as he did so. "Yeah. He's about your age, Rika-chan. He is the son of my first wife, and he went with her after we divorced. Now that she's dead and has no relatives, I took him in," he explained while looking to his son.

"Akasaka Katashi," the boy spoke his name, "I guess you're Furude Rika of the Furude shrine?"

Rika nodded, surprised that the boy had known her name. "Yeah, that's right. You're Akasaka's son?"

The boy called Katashi nodded. "Yeah… but I've been living with my mother up until now," he replied, his eyes not straying from the blue-haired girl standing in front of him. Satoko was being to feel a little left out, and she crossed her arms to show her frustration to the two other children her age. Suddenly, Katashi's vision shifted to Satoko. "Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot you were here for a few seconds…" he apologized.

Satoko got very cross and stamped her foot like an enraged wild animal. "Hey, that's not nice! Don't you know how to treat a young lady like myself?" she snapped at him.

Katashi frowned. "I said I was sorry just a few seconds ago!" he spoke, trying not to sound angry with the yellow-haired girl. "By the way, what's your name? I might have heard of you before," he asked her.

Rolling her eyes, Satoko answered, "I'm Houjou Satoko. I don't see why you'd have heard of me before, so I won't be surprised if you haven't."

The young boy's eyes it up. "Ah! I've heard of you as well! My father told me that you're really good at making traps," he spoke, recalling the various stories Akasaka had told him. "He told me this huge story about how you guys saved Rika's life from this crazy woman who had droopy eyes!"

Rika couldn't help but giggle at his description of Takano, though it was correct and the miko had often noted this during her many years in 1983. "Yup! It was quite a challenge for all of us! We all worked together to save not only be, but all of Hinamizawa from destruction!" Rika spoke as she remembered the day they had broken the fate of 1983 Hinamizawa once and for all. _Of course, that doesn't mean we have broken 1984's fate… if there is one to break. _

Katashi put a finger to his chin and looked down, as if trying to remember something important. "There was you two, and then there was also a whole bunch of other people, right? My father said there was this girl named Ryuuguu Rena who also helped, as well as a boy named Maebara Keiichi and a girl named Sonozaki Shion. Uh… the leader's name was… Sonozaki Mion? Shion's twin sister. Also, Furude Hanyuu?" he recalled.

Rika was taken aback by the amount of knowledge this boy had on the club. "Mii, your father must have told you quite a bit about us," she commented. "Do you remember what the name of the droopy woman was?" she asked him.

"Oh, wasn't it Taka-something?" answered Katashi. "Of course, I've always just called her the droopy woman…"

Akasaka laughed at his son, gently placing a large hand on his head and causing him to jump slightly. "I've told him all about you guys and all about the battle for Hinamizawa. He's quite intrigued by what you guys did," he spoke, looking down at his son with loving eyes. Katashi glanced away from his father, embarrassed by his small display of affection in front of the two girls.

Satoko blinked up at the old man as she attempted to remember exactly what he did during the battle against Takano. "Hey, were you the police officer that saved Rika from that bad man who was trying to inject her with some sort of… ur… whatever it was?" she asked him for clarification. Her memories, she realized, were quite fuzzy and jumbled up for some reason. _I remember Akasaka coming to Hinamizawa and then not doing anything to save Rika… huh? My memories are all funny…_

"Yeah, that's it. I had been practicing material arts and the like for quite a long time since I first met Rika, so I was able to use my skills to beat down a few Yamainu members while you were hiding in the basement of the Sonozaki Manor," Akasaka replied.

The fog surrounding her memories subsided and the memory of Akasaka coming in to rescue Rika became as clear as a crystal. "Ah! I remember completely now! If it weren't for you, then Rika would probably be dead by now!" cried out Satoko with glee.

Rika became rather puzzled by Satoko's behavior. "But Satoko, why did it take you so long to remember such a thing? It's not like it happened a very long time ago," she asked her friend with concern in her tone.

Satoko shook her head. "I don't know. For some reason, I feel like Akasaka came here to visit with his wife and daughter and then ended up not doing much. But then I have this strange memory of my uncle coming back…" she spoke, sounding quite puzzled herself.

That's when Rika realized. The many Hinamizawas that she had traveled to were jumbling Satoko's memories up. There had been a Hinamizawa where Akasaka came to Hinamizawa only to go off with his wife and not be of too much help to them, though the very presence of him had lifted Rika's spirits. To be specific, this was the second to last Hinamizawa where Takano had shot all of them at the very end.

"Ah! That's right!" Ooishi suddenly called out, startling everyone around him. "Furude-san, you had came to the police office a few days ago to ask about Satoko's uncle. Well we've tracked him for you," he told the blue-haired girl.

The miko's purple eyes widened with a mix of remembrance and fear of what Ooishi's answer was to be. "Is that really true, Ooishi-san? Can you tell us what you found?" she begged him, desperate for an answer. _This very fact could change the fate of this Hinamizawa entirely. I need to hear this! _

Ooishi nodded. He slowly slipped his still burning cigarette out of his mouth and crushed it between two of his fingers. Small amounts of smoke flew in all directions as he discarded it and smashed flat it into the ground. The old police officer pulled a small crumpled note out of the pocket on his pants and began to flatten it out so that he could read the words written on it. "It says here that Houjou Teppei-san and his girlfriend were placed under arrest for attempting to scam a man of his money," he read to the blue-haired girl.

Hanyuu glanced over to her friend. "Okay, got it! I'm going to analyze this world once again!" she told her. The goddess shut her eyes tightly so that not a single bit of light peeked through her eyelids. She clamped her hands together as she began to recall the events of Satoko's world, in which her uncle had abused her. "Houkou Satoko's world. Houjou Teppei returns to Hinamizawa after the death of his girlfriend. Upon his return, he forces Houjou Satoko to move back in with him and begins to abuse her. The club tries to get the man arrested, however Houjou Satoko refuses to admit that she is being abused. On the night of the Watanagashi festival, Maebara Keiichi beats Houjou Teppei to death and hides the body. Houjou Satoko hallucinates that her uncle is still alive and Maebara Keiichi goes to kill him a second time, only to save her from being boiled alive. The two of them then find the dead body of Furude Rika at the Furude Shrine. Houjou Satoko freaks out and blames Maebara Keiichi for her death and ends up pushing him off a bridge," she spoke, attempting to remember every single last detail of that Hinamizawa. Hanyuu's light purple eyes then opened, and she continued with her analyzing, "Houjou Teppei is in jail and so is his girlfriend. The Sonozaki family won't kill his girlfriend while she's still in jail. If this does happen, however, we have already defeated Houjou Teppei and it is quite easy to do so again. Chance of this world happening again is zero percent," she finished.

Rika slowly took in this information. _Ah, I see. So that eliminates the possibility of that world happening._

"Yes, Rika, so you can stop worrying about another Showa 58 happening again. It's not going to happen," Hanyuu responded, reading Rika's thoughts to her. "I think you should just relax now and enjoy the upcoming Watanagashi festival. It'll be so much fun!" she suggested. It pained her to see Rika like this again, certain that everything will end badly and that there was no chance of her surviving. Hanyuu had often told Rika during the loops that she should just enjoy everything that she could and that there was certainly a way to break fate. Rika had never counted on her being right.

_Yeah, I think that's what I'm going to do, Hanyuu,_ Rika told herin her mind so that no one else could hear her, _I'm going to stop worrying about something bad happening. I think that you're right. What could possibly go wrong when the chances of all previous Hinamizawas have been demolished?_

Hanyuu suddenly grinned very widely. "That's the spirit, Rika! Now let's just enjoy the upcoming Watanagashi and be happy~!" she encouraged the blue-haired girl.

Rika slowly nodded. _Yes. I will be positive from now on. If Hanyuu says that it's most likely not going to happen, it's most likely not going to happen. She is Oyashiro-sama, after all. _The blue-haired girl lifted her head up high into, staring into the sun. _I will no longer by bound by my memories. I will move on, and become a new Furude Rika. One without worries, and one without fear of fate! _

~~~X~~~

The Irie clinic was nearly dead silent, having no one in the building except for the doctor who worked there, Irie, and Shion. The two of them were located in the room where he would normally perform check-ups on villagers and do research on Hinamizawa Syndrome. Irie was currently seated in a black stool while Shion decided not to sit and stand right in front of him. He had been working intently on finding a cure for Hinamizawa Syndrome in secret after Takano had been taken away by the police. Now, all alone, he was having quite the hard time coming up with a cure. Yet, he refused to let the level of difficulty get in his way.

"I wanted to talk to you about Satoshi-kun," Irie explained to the rather confused green-haired girl standing in front of him.

Shion's eyes widened at the mention of the name of the boy who she was so deeply in love with. Was there something wrong with him? A thousand questions flooded Shion's mind all at once. "Is there something wrong with Satoshi-kun? Is he going to die? Are you not able to come up with a cure?" she blurted out all at once in an extremely worried tone.

Irie laughed at her questions, causing Shion to once again become very confused. "No, no. It's nothing like that," replied Irie as he started to rummage through a few files on his desk. "The news I have to share with you today is not bad news."

All the worry in Shion's heart was replaced by sudden curiosity. "What do you mean by that, director?" she asked him, her tone of voice so loud that it could be heard from a few rooms away.

Irie smiled warmly. "I'm getting extremely close to coming up with a cure for Hinamizawa Syndrome. It'll only be a few more weeks or so until I'm done," he explained to her. He watched as relief flooded every corner of the green-haired girl's body, causing her to fall back on a nearby chair.

"I'm glad… I'm so glad…" she repeated over and over again as she leaned back in her chair. She rested her arm back on her forehead, breathing in and out with the relief of knowing that nothing was wrong with the boy.

The doctor picked out one of the many files that was lying on his desk and began to scan through it. "Satoshi-kun, as you know, was suffering from a high level of Hinamizawa Syndrome. I have been able to come up with a cure that can revert him back to level one Hinamizawa Syndrome. I do not yet know if it's safe, however, so I'm going to go over a few things first," he told her, fixing his glasses so that he could read the rest of the file. "He should be returning to you and Satoko-chan soon, Shion-san."

Shion could not possibly describe how happy she was. Every part of her mind filled up with joy at the idea of Satoshi coming back to her. The boy she loved for two whole years was going to wake up again after a long wait. She felt like he body was going to explode everywhere with sheer ecstasy. _Satoshi-kun…_

At the sight of how relieved she was, Irie felt a joy rise up in him knowing his research was bringing happiness to her. After such long, hard work, he would be able to bring bliss to this girl who had been hurt so many times before. Though he had never experienced having love for someone so strong, he was able to feel how much she loved Satoshi-kun just by the way she talked about him every time she visited.

"Would you like to see him, Shion-san? Of course, he's still in a coma and you can't touch or get close to him, but if even seeing him for just a bit will make you even happier," asked Irie.

Shion jumped up out of her seat almost immediately. "Would you really let me do that? Would you really let me see Satoshi-kun again?" she asked him.

Irie nodded. "Of course, Shion-san."

Shion ran up to the doctor and grabbed the snow-white sleeve of his coat. "Please take him to me right now! Please!" she begged, falling to her knees out of desperation to see the boy she loved just once.

Slowly, he placed his hands on her sides and lifted her back up to her feet. "Of course I will, Shion-san. Just follow me," he instructed.

Before he stood up, however, he gathered up a few papers and tucked them underneath his left arm. He then began to walk out of the room, Shion following him eagerly behind. The place he was keeping Satoshi was a secret basement located underneath the Irie Clinic, which no one else knew about besides him, and Shion who had been there a few months before. She had visited him a few times before, but it had been many, many months since the last time she saw the blonde-haired boy.

Irie lead her into the secret basement and began to navigate the many twists and turns it had. The basement was purposely designed to be very complicated so any intruder would have a hard time trying to find their way around the place. He was the only one who had memorized the layout of the basement completely. After many turns, they reached a large metal door, heavily protected by many locks. Irie took out a small key and unlocked the first part of the door before pulling out a keycard and swiping it nearby. The door was unlocked.

Unable to control her excitement, Shion burst the door down and began to dash down the narrow hallway. She could hear light beeping sounds coming from nearby as she got closer and closer to the room in which her love was resting.

She soon reached a large, glass screen embedded in the wall. Beyond the barrier lay a blonde-haired boy chained by his limbs to a bed, unconscious. A monitor to the right of him made a beeping sound, indicating that he was still barely alive.

"Satoshi-kun! Satoshi-kun!" she cried out to the boy, begging to be heard. Despite her desperate cries, the boy remained as still as he had been when she saw him months ago. Yet, still as handsome as he was two years ago when the two had first crossed paths.

She wanted to break into that room and stroke his soft blonde hair. She wanted to go straight up to him and softly whisper into his ear gentle words of love. Yet, she knew it was all desires that could not be fulfilled. The boy needed to remain like this for some time longer, otherwise their reunion would not be one filled with affection; it would be one filled with terror and bloodshed.

At that moment, the glass screen seemed like her worst enemy; separating her forever from the boy she loved so much. It was tantalizing just to stare at his unconscious face. "Satoshi-kun!"

She then felt a hand gently touch her shoulder. "He can't hear you, you know," he reminded her.

"I know, I know, I know…" whispered Shion as she stared into the room. "But I just… I just..." she could not find any words to explain her actions. She knew that he would never hear her from the very moment she saw him. Yet, she wanted to call out his name. It felt so nice on her tongue.

Salty tears rushed down her face, ones of both happiness and of despair. Happy, because she finally got to see Satoshi after such a long time. Sad, because she knew that she couldn't do anything besides look. All her attempts to do otherwise were all in vain. She knew this in her heart, but that did not stop her from acting otherwise. _Satoshi-kun… Satoshi-kun… Please…_

Irie's hand lay rested on the green-haired girl's shoulder as he too gazed into the room. "Listen, Shion-san. I promise you I'll work the hardest these next weeks. I also promise you that I'll bring him back to you all in time for Satoko-chan's birthday," he told her gently. "It's a promise."

Shion nodded at the doctor's words. "He will be normal, right? He'll remember all of us, right?" she asked her.

Irie nodded. "Of course, Shion-san. I'm sure the moment he sees you again he'll instantly know who you are," he responded, not once taking his eyes away from the boy. He clenched his fists as he continued to speak, "I will bring him back. Definitely!"

Shion had no choice but to believe in Irie. There was nothing she could do now but watch and hope for his safe return. And when he was to return… _Satoshi-kun. I'll be waiting for you. I'll wait as long as it takes. Because… I love you more than anything. You're the most precious person in the world to me._

With that in mind, the green-haired girl spoke, "alright, I think I'll be heading home. I don't want to cause you anymore trouble." She wiped away a few stray tears still tumbling down from her eyes and looked sternly at the doctor.

"Alright, Shion-san. I'll take you back up."

Shion gave the boy laying unconscious in the small room one last look before she turned away and followed Irie back down the hall, and up towards the ground floor of the Irie clinic. She thanked Irie for allowing her to see Satoshi once again and then left the building, deciding that she wasn't going to come back and disturb Satoshi or Irie until he was finally awake.

~~~X~~~

The Sonozaki twins sat in their room at a small table, deep in conversation. Shion was currently explaining excitedly to her sister about Satoshi, and how he was to awake soon while she listened to her words. Two cups of tea lay in front of them. Occasionally, Mion would take a sip or two of the tea in front of her. Shion, however, was too intent in telling her about Satoshi that she had forgotten all about the cooling tea in front of her.

"Onee! He told me that Satoshi-kun is going to come back soon! He'll wake up!" cried Shion in pure joy, unable to keep the news to herself. Mion was someone that would always listen to what she had to say, and someone she could trust to keep this information confidential. That in mind, she decided to tell her sister everything.

Mion took a small sip of the tea in front of her. "I'm happy for you, Shion. How much longer does he have until he wakes up?" she asked her sister.

"Irie promised me that he'd have him back by Satoko's birthday, so not too much longer!" Shion responded, throwing her hands up in the air. She then grasped her cheeks and began to squirm back and forth at the thought of the yellow-haired boy. "Oh, I can't wait! I love him so much!"

Mion could do nothing but smile at what her sister was telling her. Shion was quite passionate about Satoshi, wasn't she? Soon, he was to awake and the two of them would finally be happy together, nothing more would possibly be able interfere with their love for each other.

The thought of that made Mion somewhat upset. Shion would finally be able to have Satoshi. The two of them could bask in each other's love while she watched on, hoping the best for the two of them. _That's right. And I'll still be alone, with absolutely no one._

Sometimes, she wondered how Shion could love so strongly. She wondered how she could just admit her feelings so clearly and bravely to everyone. Mion, on the other hand, was completely silent about her feelings for Keiichi. It was obvious by the fact that no one ever brought up the idea of the two of them being together though they often suggested that Rena and Keiichi were together.

"Are you going to ask him out when he wakes up?" Mion asked, stirring her cold tea with her pointer finger absentmindedly.

Shion nodded quickly. "Of course! I'm going to tell him how much I love him and then we'll be happy together! Kya~!" she squealed out.

Mion noted that Shion probably wasn't being too careful about what she said around her. Usually, Shion would try to hide the subject of Satoshi from Mion. She knew that it made her feel a little uneasy.

But now, as she listened to her sister's passionate words about Satoshi and how much she loved him, a single emotion rose up in her.

She was jealous.

She was jealous how she could love him so strongly, she was jealous of how she could admit her feelings so openly. But most of all, she was jealous of how happy Shion and Satoshi would be together when he finally woke up not too long from now. _Why, why can't things be so easy for me? Why are you able to do be so open about your love for someone like that? Why… why can't I be happy about love like you are?_

Shion began to dance around the room in a fit of joy, singing loudly. "Oh Satoshi-kun~ I love you so much~! I love you more than anything!" she sung to the whole world. Unfortunately, she wasn't watching where she was going and ended up tripping into the table. As a result, Mion became startled and accidently spilt her tea on Shion.

"Oops! I'll just go change now!" Shion spoke, not bothered in the slightest by the giant stain on her clothing as she walked out of the room humming the same tune she had been singing before happily.

Mion was now alone in the room, giving her some time to sort out of her thoughts. _I'm really happy for Shion, I really am. But yet… I'm jealous of her. I don't understand why I can't be like her, _she thought to herself as she rolled on her back. _I wish I were you, Shion. I wish I could be happy just like you…_

Unlike Shion, Mion had competition for Keiichi. Etsuko had told her before that Rena was in love with Keiichi as well, and she firmly believed her. Etsuko herself was quite clingy to Keiichi also. _They're both… they're both so much better than I am. They're able to act like normal girls… and they're so much more beautiful than I am. I'm just ugly old Sonozaki Mion, the tomboy. Why are they all so much better than me? I don't get it!_

"My, my. You're quite the jealous person, aren't you?" a distorted voice spoke out of nowhere, starling Mion.

_W-What was that?_ She thought as her vision darted frantically around the room. There was no one in sight. "Who just said that? Where are you?" she asked, slowly beginning to fear for her own safety. No one was in the house besides herself and her sister. Her grandmother had gone off to talk to Kiichirou further about the plans for the Watanagashi. Besides, that certainly didn't _sound_ like her grandmother. "Oh, you can't see me? I'll fix that," the warped voice spoke again. Mion once again glanced around her surroundings, looking for the owner of the voice. _W-What the hell! _She then heard a laugh coming from directly behind her. "I'm right behind you."

Mion began to tremble violently, like never before. She didn't want to look behind her. She was afraid, afraid of who could possibly be standing behind her. Taking in a deep breath, she slowly turned her head to look behind her, over her shoulder. As he green eyes took in the figure behind her, she let out a piercing scream. Behind her stood a figure, their body completely covered in a large, black kimono. A hood was slung over their head, covering up whatever hair they had if any. And on their face was a mask, the mask of a ferocious, hideous demon, concealing their identity completely. "W-WHO ARE YOU?" she demanded, "WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?"

The figure behind her crossed their arms. "Oh, are you surprised to see me? I didn't expect that. I thought we knew each other well," it purred.

Mion slowly scooted away, shaking her head. "N-No… I don't know who you are… I don't know who you are!" she denied. At that very moment, she wanted to burst out of the room screaming as loud as her vocal cords would allow. Yet, she found herself unable to stand up. She was frozen to the ground.

"Ah, well that's quite unfortunate. I guess I'll have to introduce myself again, then," it replied. "As you can probably see, I am a demon," it answered.

The green-haired girl breathed heavily as she looked at the mask blocking the face of the demon. It resembled the tattoo on her back almost perfectly. "A d-demon?" she repeated.

The demon nodded. "Yes, a demon. I'm surprised you didn't figure it out the moment you saw me," it spoke. Slowly, it sunk down to the girl's level. "After all… we are the same," it said. It took one of it's hands, covered up by what appeared to be a glove, and began to stroke Mion's chin while she stared, horrified.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Mion yelled, pushing away the demon's covered hand. "J-Just get away from here!"

The demon chuckled. "I don't plan to leave anytime soon, Sonozaki Mion. I just got here, after all. I want to have a little chat," it spoke, standing back up on its two legs.

"T-There's nothing for us to talk about! G-Good bye!" Replied the green-haired girl as she looked for something to hide under. She then felt its hand touch her shoulder and grasp it, keeping it firmly in place. It's touch felt disgusting.

"Oh, there's _so _much to talk about. Let's start off with the main topic," it began. "First of all, I see that you don't remember me. That's no problem. I'm sure you'll remember me in time. Second of all, I'd prefer if you didn't look at me like that."

Mion was staring at the demon as if she had just seen someone get tortured brutally, right in front of her eyes. Her mouth with partially open as she gasped for air, her hand placed on the table as if she was about to use it to stand up and run away as fast as she could. "I don't know you! We've never met before!" she protested.

The demon sighed. "Oh, we know each other very, very well…" it spoke, slowly drawing closer to the frightened female. "I can assure you of that. I can also assure you that I am not your foe. I am your friend. I am here to help you. After all… there are some pests that need disposing of, am I correct?" it asked her.

"Pests? Disposing of?" repeated Mion, still not having a clue about what the demon was talking about.

It nodded. "Yes. The ones you were just thinking about."

Wait a second… did it mean? "Wait, you mean Rena and Etsuko?" she asked for clarification. The demon nodded its head. Mion quickly shook hers. "No! No! They haven't done anything wrong at all!"

The demon laughed at the green-haired girl's ignorance. "What do you mean, they haven't done anything at all? They're trying to take Kei-chan away from you. They're trying to make him their _own…"_ it spoke to her.

Mion wasn't sure how to respond to what the demon was telling her. _There's no way! There's no way that they'd be doing something like that… right? They just like Kei-chan, to that's all! Though yes… they are… getting in the way. _The demon coughed uncomfortably. "As I said before, you are quite the jealous person. Envy is a sin, you should be careful of what you think," it spoke, sensing the girl's thoughts.

_Ah… yes. I am jealous of them, aren't I? I was just thinking before… with Shion and Satoshi… and how I was jealous about how they were going to be happy together. And after that… with Etsuko and Rena too. _"I-I can't help it!" Mion protested, admitting that what the demon was saying to her was true.

The demon began to pace around the room. "Well, of course it's not something that can be helped. You have always been quite the envious person, haven't you? Perhaps that's why you were born with naturally green hair and eyes," it observed. The demon stopped so that it could get a good look at the girl's expression, which had settled a little.

"I am no-!" she began to deny. She, however, was unable to finish her sentence as the demon held up a hand, telling her to keep quiet.

"Yes you are. When you were little, known as Shion, you were always jealous because your pest of a sister got more attention than you did and was loved by the family more than you were. When your twin sister began to fall in love with Satoshi, you were jealous because she was no longer paying attention to you. And now, you're jealous of that same thing once again. Because she calls Satoshi her most precious person," it told her. Mion shook her head slowly, not wanting to hear the truth. She wanted to remain oblivious to it forever. "Don't deny it. It's true," growled the demon.

It was all true. While Mion did not seek out the love Shion had for Satoshi, she had still been upset when Shion began to obsess over the yellow-haired boy like he was the most amazing thing in the whole world. She had forgotten all about her twin sister, the person she had been with even before they were born. "And yet, you know exactly how she feels. You love that Keiichi more than you love her. How pitiful."

"Stop it... don't say anything anymore… stop it!" cried Mion.

But the demon refused to listen to her and continued on. "You've always known that that Rena girl is much more of a girl than you are. You've always believed that she's more beautiful than you could ever be. And when Etsuko transferred in, she began to grow much closer to Keiichi," it continued on. "Now, Sonozaki Mion, remember when you first saw Etsuko? She was tightly embracing Keiichi outside your window. Tell me how you felt."

That was an interesting question. Mion wasn't quite sure how she had felt about it at the time. She had been mad, because she didn't want anyone else's dirty paws all over Keiichi. Not only that, but she also felt something else at the time. Some other emotion she couldn't quite put a finger on.

"You were jealous because it wasn't you hugging Keiichi," the demon answered for her.

Mion didn't want to hear anymore of what the demon had to say. "You're lying!" she screamed to it.

The demon sighed. "Well, you're just in denial. You know that everything I am saying is true, don't you? There's no point in denying. It'll just make things more painful for you. Besides, the jealousy isn't half of what I came here to tell you about."

Mion covered her eyes and shut her eyes tightly. Whatever the demon was going to say next, she knew she didn't want to hear. "No more, stop it! Don't say anything more to me!"

The demon sat down close to Mion, so that their shoulders were touching each other. "Remember when Etsuko told you that you weren't a good match for Keiichi? She's just trying to make you back away from _her _Keiichi. She hugged him on the first day they met, remember? I was just talking about that a few moments ago, so you should. That's another example of how much she wants Keiichi for herself. And remember how Rena had those animal-shaped crackers on the first day of the camping trip and how she had made Keiichi fight for them? She was just trying to make Keiichi pay more attention to her instead of you. And who knows what she was trying to do with him on that scavenger hunt," the demon taunted the green-haired girl, causing images to flash in her mind. She thought back to the day when Etsuko had stood outside with her, telling her all about how much Rena loved Keiichi and how she would never be a match for him no matter how hard he tried. She had told her in a manner that seemed almost clingy to her. Then there was Rena with the animal-shaped crackers and how he had patted her on the head. That wasn't just it, wasn't it? He had always patted her on the head, always. Perhaps she just was setting him up to pat her on the head? Her train of thoughts was a complete wreck, and she no longer knew what she was thinking about.

Once again, the demon sighed. "Oh well, just think about it for a little while. I won't disturb you any longer tonight. Keep what I said in mind," it told her. It then stood up, brushing off it's thick robes which completely concealed it's body. "Well then, I'll be o-"

At that moment, Shion came rushing into the room. "Ah, I'm sorry about that Onee. I took quite a bit, didn't I? I went to get a small snack along the way as well," she said. There were indeed some smudges of snacks still around Shion's lips.

Mion glanced at Shion and then to the demon who had yet to disappear. _She doesn't see it?_ "Uh… Shion…? Can you see anything behind my back?" she asked her sister.

Shion tried to rub off the food staining her white cheeks. "Huh? What an odd question. There's a whole stack of books behind your back," she said, and then using her finger to point to the books of many colors stacked up neatly right behind the demon.

"She can't see me, don't worry," the demon said.

Shion stumbled back to her seat. "Ah, I forgot I also had tea. Maybe you should have reminded me before I had a little more, Onee," she grumbled, scratching her head.

Mion raised one of her green eyebrows. "Uh, Shion? You never told me you were going to make some tea…" she pointed out.

Shion froze for a few seconds before letting her hand fall back to her side. "Wait, I really didn't tell you that…" she realized.

The older green-haired girl let out a laugh at her sister's odd behavior. "Man, Shion! You're such a weirdo sometimes, don't you know that?" she commented.

Shion decided to laugh along with her sister. "I know! I think I'm totally spacing out today. Maybe I need to go to bed a little earlier, eh?" she giggled. Her green eyes then focused on the small clock ticking by the stack of books she had previously mentioned. "Ah, it's alright ten pm? I think we should head to bed, then. So much for sleeping early, hm?"

Mion nodded. She too was _very_ tired. After all that had just happened, she felt like passing out right on the spot.

Wait. Where was the demon?

The older green-haired girl looked behind her, finding no trace of the demon that had been previously standing there. _Ah… well it did say it was going to leave._

Shion startled her older sister by suddenly grabbing her wrist. Mion broke away from her thoughts to look at her twin. "Come on, sis! Let's get out our futons and then let's head to sleep!" she said, forcefully pulling her sister up from the comfort of the cushion she was sitting on. She then opened a sliding door to a rather large closet and pulled out the two rolled up futons. She spread hers out and shook off whatever dust it had collected.

Mion snatched up her futon from the closet and began to lie out the futon. As she did so, she thought a little about what the demon had told her. _It said they were stealing him away from me… huh? _She shook off the thought as she crawled into the warm futon and curled up. _Whatever… I'm just gonna get some sleep now… _Slowly, she closed her emerald green eyes and began to drift off into a peaceful sleep, free of any worries or dark thoughts that had filled her mind all that day.

~~~X~~~

**Crimso's Corner!  
So much for the last chapter being my longest chapter, eh? I'll be surprised if you even got through this chapter. It was so long… and somewhat boring. I really wish I were able to write this better. I really don't like myself, sometimes. I realize most of this fic is dialogue, though that won't last for much longer… I don't think. Well, I certainly know the endless dialogue is going to come to an end sometime in this fanfiction. **

**Does anyone know if you can use that handy tool to replace your chapters with another document without deleting any reviews that you got for that chapter? I need to fix up some crappy errors in a few documents, specifically the first two chapter breaks. **

**Oh yes. My laptop is terrible. The sound isn't working and the battery is faulty. I'm going to have to take it to the tech center at my school and get it fixed, so during that time I probably won't be able to write. I don't know when the next chapter will be up. I think I need a little break from endless writing as well.**

**Ugh, School. It's one thirty. I'm going to be as tired as hell when I wake up… but I really wanted to finish this chapter before I have to take my computer to the tech center. I have to present a Spanish video… that requires volume, so it's urgent that I get this computer fixed. I don't have Spanish tomorrow, thank god, so tomorrow is my only chance to get this thing fixed. I might actually need a replacement.**

**Ignore my blabbering, please. I'm just being a little annoying now. **

**See you whenever I can upload the next chapter.**

**~Crimso**


	15. Chapter 14: Treasure Hunting

**Yo readers, Crimso here. So basically, I have a loaner computer right now. Originally I was going to wait until I got my computer back to write again, but they told me it would be a really long time until I got mine back. I have to pay for a new battery and everything (It costs a hundred dollars, too :|). Luckily, the loaner they gave me is shiny and clean (though the battery is even worse) unlike the other loaner laptops they have and unlike my dirty laptop which would probably make you faint if you say how dirty it was. Yup, so that's my little story. By the way, I edited a few things in the previous chapters (errors and such) so if you really feel like it you can take a look. There's really not much a difference though.  
Also, 100,000 words GET! YES! I feel so special.**

**That's all I need to say for now. Enjoy Chapter 14. (Gee… Spell check is going to be annoying).**

~~~~X~~~~

The night was particularly dark that day for some reason that Maebara Keiichi couldn't point out. Perhaps it was because the moon was unable to be seen, or maybe it was because the stars were invisible under the thick coating of storm clouds. He lay on his futon, staring at the ceiling in deep thought. _Mion…_ the name of the girl he loved echoed throughout his mind without end. Recently, he couldn't seem to get her off his mind. He pictured her smiling face in his mind and flushed. _Damn it… Maebara Keiichi! Why can't you stop thinking about her? _He knew that he had been in love with her for a very long time now. Yet, he couldn't seem to find any way to tell her. _I doubt she even likes me _Keiichi thought, rolling over on his side and fumbling with the futon's fuzzy blankets. Somewhere in his heart, however, he knew he just had to tell her somehow. Even if it meant being rejected.

He hadn't been afraid when he was up against the Yamainu and Takano, and he wasn't even scared of the gun she held in her hand at that time. The only thing he had been afraid of was the final bullet loaded in her gun hitting Mion and killing her. _And yet, you're afraid of asking a girl out? You're such a coward sometimes…_

He just didn't know how to do it. What was he to tell her? He slowly hoisted himself up so that he was sitting with his back completely straight while he tried to sort out his thoughts. _I need help with this…_

Keiichi exited his room and climbed down the steep steps to the ground floor of his house. In the kitchen, his mother was busy cooking dinner. The many spices and scents wafted throughout the whole house, giving it a delicious smell. His father, on the other hand, was busy sitting on one of the couches and reading the local newspaper.

His mother stirred the pot containing freshly made noodles slowly, so that no stew in the pot splattered on the floor. "Ah, Keiichi! Dinner isn't ready yet," she informed her son when she spotted him coming down the steps.

The scent of the food was strong and made Keiichi a little hungry and almost made him forget the reason why he had bothered come down stairs in the first place. "No, I didn't come down here for dinner," he told his mom before glancing straight at his dad who hadn't noticed his arrival. "I came here to speak to dad… in private."

The newspaper his dad was holding instantly slammed down on his lap, abandoned. "Oh! What does my lovely son want to talk to me about?" he asked him in his usual dramatic fashion.

Keiichi sighed at his father's unnecessary and quite embarrassing need to always speak so dramatically. "It's a private matter, Dad. I don't want mom listening to us…"

His mother looked curiously at her son, but didn't protest. "Go ahead, then. I'll just need to ask you to go to a different room as I'm currently cooking dinner and cannot abandon that task," she told him, gesturing to the steaming pot full of bubbling stew and noodles.

Ichirou picked up the newspaper on his lap and tossed it to the side of the couch carelessly. "We'll talk in your room, then," he said.

Keiichi nodded and returned back up the stairs to his room. He slid open the very thin sliding door, wondering if his mom would be able to hear them through it. It was embarrassing just talking to his dad about this. His mom, on the other hand, was a completely different story provided that his dad would take him seriously. His dad entered only a few seconds later, then sitting on one of the comfortable green cushions.

"Dad, this is something serious," Keiichi told his dad sternly, "so I don't want you acting like you usually do, okay?"

Ichirou looked hurt by his son's words. "What do you mean, Keiichi? Does my beautiful behavior harm you so?" he spoke as fake tears rolled down his cheeks. He then spread his arms out wide for emphasis and attempted to tackle his son.

Keiichi yelped and jumped out of the way just in the nick of time, sending Ichirou crashing face first right to the hard floor. "That's _exactly_ what I told you _not _to do!" snapped the brown-haired boy.

As if nothing had happened, Ichirou pulled himself upwards and brushed off his shirt. "Ah, I'm sooooo sorry my son! Now what is it that you wanted to talk about with your dear father?" cried Ichirou.

Keiichi rolled his blue eyes and stood up. "You know what, dad? Never mind. I'll solve this issue on my own…" he grumbled. He trudged over to the sliding door to the hallway and placed his hand on it, about to pull it open and leave the room.

"No wait, Keiichi! I'll pay attention. Seriously," his father spoke.

He removed his hand from the sliding door with a sigh and sat back down on his futon's sheets. How was he supposed to phrase this? "Uh… so basically… I'm having a little trouble…"

His father titled his head to the side. "What are you having trouble with, my boy?" he asked him

Keiichi was feeling quite embarrassed and wanted to tell his father to forget that he ever asked him of anything. _No, I need to do this no matter what. _"Dad… I'm having a bit of trouble with… uh… a girl I like," he managed to stammer out.

Ichirou's eyes instantly lit up with shock and glee. "My son has finally found a girl he likes? What is this wonderful news?" he cried out. "My son, I shall listen to whatever you say!" he yelled out. Then, he paused for a few moments. "Oh, is it that Rena girl? Or that other girl you were with with the pink hair?"

Keiichi growled at his father, warning him about his behavior. "No! It's neither of them," he responded.

His father looked puzzled. "Wait a moment, then who is it?"

Looking away, Keiichi responded, "that girl with the green hair. Sonozaki Mion."

The memory of the girl with the green hair flashed through Ichirou's mind. "Ah! Is that the girl who constantly dresses you up in maid outfits and such?" he spoke, recalling finding Keiichi clad in a rather revealing and feminine maid outfit at his doorstep several times.

Keiichi nodded slowly. "But that's not even the point, dad! I really like her. I really do! So I need your help on how to tell her!" he begged.

Ichirou crossed his arms and closed his eyes tightly. "Well, my son, I'm not quite sure how you should do it myself. When I first fell in love with your mother, I was at a complete loss for what to do. But, my son, what you have to learn to do is to be brave!" he told him.

"Well, that's not much help," grumbled Keiichi as he looked away.

His father cleared his throat. "It is actually quite a bit of help, my son. The main obstacle between a man and a he likes girl is his lack of courage. That's the one thing that's going to stop him from asking her out. If you just overcome that, I'm sure that everything will be fine provided she likes you back," he explained to the doubtful brown-haired boy.

Yet, Keiichi refused to be totally convinced. "Well, that's the main thing. I don't think that she likes me back," he told his father

Ichirou nodded at his son knowingly. "Oh, I know. But it's better just to ask so if she doesn't like you, you can move on and find someone else. It's better not to be in pain. And if she does… well, then you two can be happy together," he spoke to him seriously, discarding his usual eccentric behavior. "Trust me on this one. I know from experience with your mother."

A flood of thoughts rushed through Keiichi's mind as he took in what he was saying. "Alright, thanks dad," he muttered before standing up and exiting his room. He needed some time to think all by himself, perhaps outside. He wandered down the stairs once again and exited the house.

Outside, it was quite chilly though not enough so that it could be considered freezing. Keiichi found himself sitting on a nearby gray rock placed close to the path in front of their house. He watched as the blanket of dark clouds tore apart in areas, revealing the deep blue sky before being stitched back together again. A storm of thoughts clouded his mind and he found himself unable to clear them. _Is dad right? Should I just confess to Mion that I like her? _He thought as he played with a loose strand of brown hair. _But… what happens if she says no? Is it really just that easy to move on? _He pondered this thought for quite a while. His father had spoken as if moving on was something easy, but he knew his dad well. His dad was quite the flirt and he would often tell him stories about the various girls he fell in love with before deciding he loved his mother most of all. Keiichi, however, was not like his father. Mion was someone he had known for a whole year and had loved for quite a while now despite him only figuring out the feeling was love a few days ago. It wouldn't be easy to move on from her. There weren't many girls in Hinamizawa, and he knew for a fact that he had no interest in any of them except for Mion. Sure, Rena was quite the cute girl. However, she wasn't his type. Etsuko was the same; he held no interest in her as a romantic partner. _Mion… I love you so much… I just don't know how to tell you that _he thought as if he was speaking to Mion herself. _But one day, you'll definitely know how much I love you. I'll show you how much I love you. Just you wait until that day comes, Mion. _Keiichi stood up, feeling confident with himself. _I think I'll be able to do this. Perhaps that day will come sooner than I thought. _

With that in mind, he decided, "tomorrow! I'll tell her how I feel tomorrow!" he yelled out to the whole world. "Nothing will be able to stop me!"

He stormed back into the house, feeling as if he could do anything. _Tomorrow… Mion, you'll know how I feel about you. I'll make sure of it._

~~~~X~~~~

Tomorrow came, and Keiichi found himself sitting at his desk doing an art project like usual. As he sculpted the mound of deep purple clay sitting on the desk before him, he glanced over to the green-haired girl sitting closer to him. She was busy working on an essay though she looked horribly stressed. On a daily basis, Keiichi would see her having problems with her work. However, he had never seen her look this stressed before. She was trying to scribble down words with her pencil but was instead making marks that looked like a bunch of squiggles. He watched she collapsed onto the table, scratching her head furiously.

Keiichi scooted his chair over next to her and looked down at the paper marked with failed attempts at writing. "Mion, do you need any help with this?' he asked her kindly.

Mion's green eyes were removed from the paper and focused themselves on the boy that has suddenly appeared next to her. "Ah, Kei-chan! I don't need any help! So… don't worry about me. Just go back to your art project over there…" she suggested before turning back to the paper.

The brown-haired boy let out a sigh. "Don't lie, Mion. I know you're having trouble. Let me help," he spoke as he reached for the pencil she was grasping in her right hand. Mion made no attempt to stop him nor did she remove her hand from the pencil, causing Keiichi to accidently touch her soft fingers with his own. This small contact between their bodies caused him to flare up and look away. _Gee, it never used to be this way._

"T-Thanks Kei-chan! B-But you know… I'm okay," she replied as she attempted to push him away from her. "This is nothing at all! This old man can handle everything all by herself!"

Keiichi doubted his friend's words. "But Mion, you really look troubled," he pointed out sounding concerned.

She shook her head. "I'm alright, Kei-chan. I just took on a little more than I can handle is all. I'll be able to find my way out of this situation…" she reassured him, smiling weakly.

Keiichi couldn't help but look a little at what she was trying to write. She had written something down about the various cities and Japan and how she had visited them. _Wait a moment… Mion's never been outside Hinamizawa or Okinomiya. _"Uh, Mion? What's this about you visiting the many cities of Japan?"

Mion yelped and covered the sheet of paper with her arms. "This is absolutely nothing!" she cried out nervously as she further covered up her paper.

At that moment, Shion, who had been watching the whole scene from the right of Mion, turned away from the math sheet she had been working on and looked over at her identical twin and the boy sitting next to her. "Oh, she lied to Chie-sensei about the camping trip. She told her that we were going to visit the many cities of Japan and that she was going to write a huge essay about how they were different yet so alike…" Shion explained.

Keiichi chuckled a little bit. That sounded _just_ like something Mion would do. "You really couldn't have thought of another way to get time off, Mion?"

Mion nodded slowly, embarrassed. "Yeah… I really wanted to do this for the club though. So now I'm stuck doing this stupid essay I know nothing about," she replied.

"Why don't you just look up information in the library over in Okinomiya? You don't even need to go to the cities to know information about them," Keiichi suggested to the troubled green-haired girl. Her green eyes widened with realization upon hearing his words.

"That's a great idea, Kei-chan!" she cried out in joy. "I think I'll do that. Perhaps I can figure out how to do this stupid essay though it's not due for a few weeks…"

Keiichi raised one of his brown eyebrows. "A few days?" he repeated the girl's words suspiciously.

She froze. "Uh… well… actually… she told me to take my time… so I guess I could turn it in in a few weeks and it'll still be okay?"

Keiichi shook his head at the girl. "No, that's not what she meant. I think she was referring to a few days, not weeks," he muttered. At times, he noted, Mion could be a little ignorant. Academics had never been her strong point. Mion disliked putting effort into anything including cooking and other useful skills, which hindered her quite a bit. Of course, Mion was actually an amazing cook if she was willing to put the effort into cooking.

Mion shrugged. "Don't linger on the little facts, Kei-chan. I don't think Chie-sensei is expecting anything of me anyways," she said.

"With that attitude towards academics, it's no wonder you're getting nowhere!" snapped Keiichi. "If you don't work to reach your goals, you'll never get any better! You have to strive forward, Mion! Better academic grades mean a better future for you. You cannot achieve anything in life if you don't work! "

A small giggle came out of Mion's mouth after hearing Keiichi's speech, shorter than the usual rants. "My future has been planned out for me the moment I was born. I'm going to take over the Sonozaki Family and spend my days in the Sonozaki Manor running the family. It's not like math or anything is going to improve how I can run Hinamizawa," she began to tell him. "I can't avoid becoming the Sonozaki head at this point. Therefore, I see no need to learn all this crap…"

Keiichi had forgotten all about her being the heiress to the great Sonozaki family. _That's right, her future has been planned from her birth. _"I see. I still think you should work though, Mion. It's not like being the head of a family requires zero effort," Keiichi said to the girl.

She didn't even consider this idea for a few seconds before quickly responding, "nope! No way am I going to work for no reason! That's just stupid stuff. Who needs work when you can just spend your days having fun? We're still kids."

Keiichi sighed at the girl. "You know Mion, you're so odd sometimes."

She titled her head to the side. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" she asked him.

The brown-haired boy stood up from his chair and stretched out his arms. "Well, that's for you to decide. I don't mean it to be mean, though," he spoke after finishing his stretches. With that, he grabbed the bottom of his chair and pulled it back towards his desk to finish the art project he had been assigned.

His fingers played and molded the purple clay into a small figurine of a cat. He used his fingernail to poke curvy eyes into the cat's face and a smile. When he was done, he moved his chair back so he could admire his work. It wasn't very good as art wasn't exactly his strong point, though. His sculpture was horribly lumpy and looked very off in several ways. _Cats aren't even purple… _

Obviously, he wasn't planning to keep the little purple cat. The question was… whom was he going to give the cat to? He glanced around the room and at the many kids. _Rika and Satoko might want it, _he thought as he looked at the two friends drawing a giant picture of various animals gathered in a forest. _Etsuko… maybe_, he thought as he saw the pink-haired girl answering a few math problems in her workbook. His eyes then rested on the two green-haired girls sitting at the nearby desk. _Mion… nah, she wouldn't want it, _he thought, _Shion wouldn't either. _

A small hand tugged on his shirt, causing him to whip around to look at the owner of the hand. Ryuuguu Rena stood behind him, smiling. "That's a very cute kitten, Keiichi-kun," she commented as she observed the small clay cat.

_Ah, perfect!_ "Do you want it, Rena? I don't think it fits anyone else here…. So…" he asked her as he glanced at the other club members out of the corner of his eye.

She nodded in response. "Yes, Rena would love to have it! Its just sooo cute! Hau…" she cried out in her take-it-home mode. Keiichi quickly grasped her wrist to prevent the crazed girl from snatching the cat up and possibly squishing it back to a lump. Slowly, he picked up the cat and raised it above Rena's head as she continued her futile attempts to snatch it away.

"Okay, I'll give this to you when you calm down… you'll probably end up killing it or something," he told the girl as his hold on her wrist tightened. "You know… like the animal-shaped crackers."

Rena instantly calmed down when she remembered the horrible fate of the animal-shaped crackers. Sighing, Keiichi handed the small purple cat to the now calm orange-haired girl. "Please take care of it for me, alright? The little cat needs a good home," he told her as he gently patted her on the head, as he would usually do to her. She smiled up at him and gave him a quick nod before returning back to her seat next to Hisao with the small purple cat in her hand.

Mion watched this interaction from her desk, having given up on her essay for the time being. _It doesn't fit anyone else, huh? I really do like cats, _she thought as she saw Keiichi raise the small cat above Rena's head._ I guess something like that is too cute for a tomboy like me, _she added bitterly. Her eyes green eyes then widened with shock and a slight rage when she saw Keiichi's soft hand gently begin to pat Rena's head of orange hair. A feeling of jealously rose up inside of her… a feeling she found hard to contain.

No one seemed to notice however, as they both instantly went back to their seats to start working on something new. Keiichi took out another lump of clay, this time colored green, and began to shape it into something else. She watched fondly as the jump of green clay began to grow ears and a tail as well as four legs. _He's pretty terrible at art,_ thought Mion with a slight chuckle. The brown-haired boy titled his head to the sight as he contemplated about what he should do with the lump before raising his finger into the air with an idea on what to do flowing in his head and continuing to work on the art.

Shion, who had been having a little trouble with her math homework as usual, turned around to ask Mion for some help. Her words were quickly stopped when she realized where Mion's gaze was focused on. A smirk found it's way across her face. "Oh, Onee, can't control how much you love him, hm?" she teased her sister.

Mion resisted the urge to smack her on the head with whatever large object she could find laying around in the room. "Shut up, Shion. We're in the middle of class. Besides, he'll hear you!" she hissed.

"So, you're not going to deny it?" replied Shion.

Another urge to strangle her sister appeared. "Just shut up, stupid Shion!" snapped Mion.

Giving up, Shion turned back to her paper and began to take wild guesses at what the answers to the math problems could be. When she had finished doing that with all the problems, she got up and handed in the sheet to Chie. "Ah, finally finished a sheet, Shion-san?" she remarked as she looked through the sheet only to find that every single answer was completely wrong.

"Shion-san! I order you to go back and finish this PROPERLY!" snapped a very angry Chie. Not startled in the least, Shion stood her ground and blinked slowly at the enraged teacher. "I'm so sick of the two of you being unable to finish a single sheet of work without having something done incorrectly! You didn't even try on this one!"

Shion shrugged off her teacher's rage and took the sheet of paper back from her. "I'd prefer if I could do something other that math. It's quite boring and I find other stuff much more interesting than math."

Chie crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. "No, Shion-san. Until you are able to manage doing all this math, I will not allow you or Mion-san to learn anything else. Tell her to stop doing that essay of hers and work on this math sheet," she ordered her as she whipped out a sheet covered in endless math problems and handed it to Shion.

Grumbling, Shion returned to her seat and handed the sheet to her sister. "Stop with the essay. Chie-sensei says we have to work on these math problems until we learn how to do math properly," she sighed.

Mion removed the sheet of paper from the top of her desk and began to scan down its contents. "Wait a moment… these are impossible to do! Completely impossible!" she cried out in alarm.

Shion nodded at her sister in agreement. "Well, I guess we should get started, then?"

Mion frowned as she started to work on the first problem. "Yeah, let's do this together. Kei-chan is too busy with his art project right now, so we shouldn't bother him…" she spoke. Shion glanced over to Keiichi to confirm what he sister had said. He was indeed firmly focused on finishing whatever he was trying to make. To Shion, it looked kind of like a deformed cockroach.

"Right, let's."

~~~~X~~~~

Class came to an end slowly. It felt like a huge relief the moment Chie called out that the class had ended, like she had just thrown a heavy rock off her chest.

"With that, we'll be starting club activities!" cried Mion to the bunch of gathered kids, earning her a cheer.

However, Etsuko hopped out of her seat and began to pack up her things. "I'm going to go home early today. Sorry, I just have a lot of things I need to do at home is all," she spoke before attempting to reach for Hisao and pull him along with her.

Rena glanced at the clock located directly above the blackboard. "Oh, Rena was going to go treasure hunting before she had to go home. My dad wants me home early today, so… I'm going to go early as well," she spoke.

Mion crossed her arms, looking disappointed. "Then we won't have club activities today. Shion, come on, let's go home…" she said, gesturing for her identical twin sister to stand up and leave with her.

"Wait a moment!" cried Keiichi's voice, stopping Mion right in her tracks. He took a deep breath as he spoke, "I need to talk to you about something before you two leave, Mion. Alone."

Mion glanced to Shion, silently asking if it was okay for her to go with him for a few moments. She responded by bobbing her head and speaking, "go ahead, Onee. I'll just sit here and wait until you two are done talking."

Keiichi nodded. "Let's go out in the back, Mion."

~~~~X~~~~

The area outside the building of the school was rather large. Besides there being a place to run around, Chie also kept a garden for growing curry ingredients which she'd often force the students to tend to as a part of their class work. Keiichi and Mion were now standing directly in front of that garden. Various vegetables that were not yet ready to be picked and the like completely coated the ground.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Mion asked the slightly younger teenager.

He looked away, embarrassed. How was he going to phrase this? How would she react when he told her? _What if she says no? _"Ur… well… I wanted to tell you something…"

Mion raised a green eyebrow, curious as to what he was going to say. "Okay, go ahead and tell this old man."

Keiichi took a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak, though words failed to take form. He closed it, thinking over what he was going to say. _You don't have to do this now, Keiichi! Just say something so you can get out of this! _His mind told him. He shook off those thoughts as soon as he heard them, knowing that he had to tell her today. Something told him that he had to otherwise something bad might happen. "Well… thanks."

The green-haired girl looked genuinely confused. "Huh?"

The brown-haired boy began to panic, not knowing what to say. "Ur! I mean thanks for everything that you've done for me! You know, since I've moved here and stuff!" he blurted out all at once.

It took several seconds for Mion to realize what he had just said. "Ah, it's no problem. I'm just helping out a friend, aren't I?" she told him with one of her bright smiles that made Keiichi's heart melt.

"I LOVE YOU MION!" he cried out as fast as he could. Unfortunately, he had done so so fast that Mion didn't catch a word.

"Ur… I'm sorry, can you say that again?" she asked him.

_You can still turn back! _He reminded himself. "Uh… nothing! I said I thought you were really cool, Mion!" he lied, deciding that he just couldn't confess.

She smirked at his comment, "oh, feeling a little bit crushed under the weight of how awesome I am? Well thank you for your compliment, Kei-chan. It makes this old man feel a little better about herself," she replied.

Keiichi nodded. "Y-Yeah," he answered, looking around for some way he could escape the presence of the girl he loved. "Well, I gotta go now! See you later!" he cried out, running away at lightning speed.

"Uh, bye?" yelled Mion back as she watched the boy speed away. After he had disappeared from sigh, she placed her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side. "Man, Kei-chan was sure acting weird."

~~~~X~~~~

A young boy dashed through the forest of Hinamizawa, trying to stay hidden from everyone. _I hope Nee-chan doesn't find me here, _he thought as he pushed a few low branches out of his way to prevent being scraped by the pointy ends. He didn't know where he was going. All he knew was that he wanted to get away and have some time away from the watchful eye of his sister.

Hisao found himself at the edge of the woods. There he was, standing on a large cliff overlooking what appeared to be a garbage dump of some kind. Smelly trash littered the brown ground, making it unable to be seen. He could just barely make out a small figure clad in white scaling the endless mountain of trash.

"R-Rena-chan?" he called to the figure in disbelief. What would someone like her being doing in the trash?

The figure whipped around to look at the boy who had just called her name out. "Hisao-kun? Is that you, is that you?" she called back to him.

He slowly nodded his head shakily. "W-What are you doing in the trash?"

Rena glanced to her feet, currently standing on top of many scraps of metal and wood. "It's not trash! To Rena, it's a mountain of treasure!" she cried out, throwing her hands up in the air.

Hisao looked confused at the heap of trash piled up in clumps below. It hardly seemed like treasure to him. "I don't… g-get it. H-How are little scraps of metal t-treasure?" he asked her.

Rena shook her head quickly. "No no! Not the scraps of metal! I'm talking about all the buried objects! Hau!"

It took him another few seconds to notice that many abandoned objects also covered the ground. Some objects were rather useless such as a pair of torn up shoes and some cracked vases. Though others were actually in quite good condition and made him wonder why someone would through them away in the first place. Rena turned back around and began to hum as she threw all the sharp scraps of metal to the side and began to dip her way deeper into the mound of treasure. It seemed to go on forever and ever, having endless amount of junk. Small chunks of wood were tossed aside as Rena continued to search for items that she deemed to be cute.

"Hau! It's a toy bunny! Hau!" cried Rena as she spotted a small pink bunny figurine underneath a pile of junk. She went into take-it-home mode and began to dig furiously through the junk resting on top of the bunny figure.

Hisao slowly climbed down the pile of junk and to where Rena was. He observed closely as the orange-haired girl found herself unable to pull the bunny out, even with what could be considered her super strength. He bent over and touched a small scrap of metal that had been resting in the way of the pink bunny and slowly slid it out and placed it aside. He continued to do the same for more scraps that had been lying about and began to make his way towards the small bunny. He didn't even have a quarter of Rena's speed, though he knew that he could somehow get the bunny if he tried hard enough. It took many, many minutes of digging until his hand finally grasped the figurine and pulled it out triumphantly.

Rena clapped her hands together at the black-haired boy. "Congratulations, Hisao-kun!" she cried out. "Even Keiichi-kun has a hard time pulling out trash whenever he comes here with me!"

Handing the small bunny over to Rena, Hisao sat himself down on the rather uncomfortable pile of junk, wincing at the feel of metal scraps. "D-Do you come here with Maebara-san often?" he asked.

Rena nodded. "Yup! Keiichi-kun and I go digging for treasure ALL the time! It's so much fun!" she yelled out.

Suddenly, Hisao felt somewhat grim. "Hey, Rena… do you… you know… L-Like Maebara-san?" he asked her.

The orange-haired girl looked confused at the black-haired boy's question. "What would make you think that, think that? Keiichi-kun is Rena's friend. Rena only thinks of Keiichi-kun as a friend," she responded. "Besides, Mi-chan likes Keiichi-kun! They're both soooo adorable together! Hau!" she cried out, beginning to return to take-it-home mode. "Hau! I want to take Mi-chan and Keiichi-kun home!" she yelled. Hisao winced at the idea of whatever images were rushing through Rena's had. For some reason, he felt as if Rena wouldn't be perverted enough to imagine them doing anything TOO inappropriate.

"Oh, so you d-don't have any interest in him as a r-r-romantic p-p-partner?" he repeated, still unable to get over the usual stutter.

"I just said that I didn't, didn't I?" giggled Rena. "So no, I have no interest in having Keiichi-kun as my boyfriend or anything of that sort."

Hisao nodded, kicking a little trash with his foot and watching as it tumbled down the mountain of junk. "I…I'm just curious is all," he muttered. _Ah, so she was right then. I guess it doesn't really matter for her either way. I-I think. _

Rena smiled as she looked at the small bunny in the palm of her hand. It was so cute. How someone could have thrown something like that away, she didn't know. It didn't seem to have anything wrong with it after all. It was pink and was made of plastic with a smile upon its face. In it's fake arms it was clutching a small plastic carrot. "I'm gonna name him Nori. Isn't he the cutest, Hisao-kun?" she asked the black-haired boy as she showed him the adorable plastic bunny she held so fondly in her hands.

"Yup, it's really cute," he agreed, not noticing that his stutter had faded away. A bright smile lit her face as she stroked the bunny's ears with a small finger. Seeing her so happy over something he had gotten for her made him feel somewhat embarrassed for some reason he couldn't point out. Slowly, he inched himself closer to Rena. "Are you happy? I mean… with the bunny…"

"Of course Rena is happy with the bunny! It's just so cute!" she replied, holding the bunny closer to her and cupping it tightly so that it did not slip back underneath all the trash.

A light blush formed on Hisao's face upon seeing her so gleeful. She just looked so cute when she was happy. Like something _he'd_ want to take home.

Without warning, Rena's eyes darted away from the bunny and to the blushing Hisao. Her eyes lit up and she stuffed the small bunny into a hidden pocket on her white dress, now set on taking something else home… or rather, someone else. "Hau! Hisao-kun is so cute when he blushes like that! I'm gonna take him home!" she declared loudly as she tackled the poor boy.

Now, Hisao wasn't nearly as strong as Rena. As Rena hugged him tightly and nuzzled her head into his chest, he felt as if someone was strangling him. Yet, he still felt a little bit embarrassed by the feel of her body against his. "Rena-chan!" he managed to rasp out, "you're gonna kill me!"

Unfortunately, Rena didn't seem to hear him and continued her attempt to take him home. She then jumped away from him and attempted to scoop him up in her arms. Hisao managed to roll away at the last second, causing Rena to go crashing into the spot where he had previously been sitting. "Sorry!" he managed to squeak out.

Rena was able to brush off the injury like nothing had happened. "It's okay, Hisao-kun. Rena just got a little bit happy at the sight of a cute Hisao-kun! Hau!"

He giggled; grabbing her hand and helping her pull herself back up on two legs. "Okay, now that that's over, do you want to go collect some more cute things?" he asked her.

Rena nodded as fast as she could. "Of course! Let's go look for some more now! Hau!" she replied. She then took hold of his hand gently and tugged him further into the vast dump, eager to find more cute treasures.

~~~~X~~~~

Night flooded the skies of Hinamizawa, giving the whole village a midnight hue. A few lights were set along the paths, illuminating only a small area. Yet, the area around Mion's house was completely barren of all light. She sat herself on her fluffy futon, all alone. _Man, I really wish that Kei-chan was going to confess to me back then… _she thought as she fumbled with a strand of green hair hanging down from her head. _I don't get it, though. Why would he call me over just to say that he thought I was cool?_

"It's quite strange, yes? I don't believe that was actually what he was going to say to you," a distorted voice called out to her. Suddenly, the demon from the previous night appeared in front of her, clad in the same outfit and still wearing a thick mask.

Mion was taken aback by the sudden appearance of the demon, but she decided not to let it show on her face. "Why are you here again?" she asked it in a unfriendly tone.

The demon crossed its arms and looked down at the girl. "What do you mean by that? I told you I wouldn't bother you for the rest of THAT night. Of course I was to come back, "it responded.

Mion shook her head. "No, for some reason I expected that much. I'm asking you WHY you came back and WHY you even bothered to come talk to me in the first place," she growled at it, deciding that she was going to be rude to it.

The demon sat itself down next to the green-haired girl. "Whoa, you're acting as if I'm trying to do something bad to you. I already told you that I'm your friend. I'm not here to hurt _you… _I'm here to help," it said, glancing at her with concealed eyes.

The young Sonozaki held up a hand flat. "Well, I'm sorry, but I don't need any help with anything."

The demon cackled loudly at the girl's words. "Oh yes you do. I know you've been suffering because of a few pests, hm? We've already discussed this, Sonozaki Mion. Let's not go back into the details as to why I'm here."

Rolling on her futon, Mion began to look away from the demon and up at the ceiling. "Okay then. Tell me this. Who are you?"

Another chuckle sounded out from underneath the mask. "I don't think you're ready to know that yet. Though I'm surprised you haven't figured it out already," it told her, voice distorted beyond anything recognizable. "Though I must say, I'm surprised you don't know anything about your own family's history," it commented.

"I do know a little about my family," grumbled Mion, "though the untrue stories that have been told about it don't hold my interest whatsoever."

The demon reached out its hand and gently rested it on Mion's chin, tilting her head so that her green eyes were staring right at the fake eyes painted onto its mask. "Well then, I'm surprised you don't know about who I am seeing as how this is a legend that's actually true." Mion pulled herself upwards and slapped away the demon's hand, glaring at it. "Now, now. Don't try to deny the existence of demons. You're looking at one right now, after all."

"I don't believe in the legends of Hinamizawa very strongly, if that's what you're trying to ask me," Mion spoke to it sternly.

The demon let out a sigh as it stood up and looked down upon the green-haired girl. "Well then, have you heard the story of Sonozaki Ayame?" it asked Mion.

Mion crossed her arms as she thought deeply about the question. For some reason, the name seemed somewhat familiar to her. Yet, she couldn't quite put her finger on it. The thought bothered her for some reason._ Well, that's kind of odd._ That being said, even if she had heard of the name somewhere before, she had no idea about the contents of the legend itself. "No, I've never heard of it before," Mion answered.

"That comes as no surprise to me. Not many people know about the legend anymore," the demon replied in a bored tone. "Then I guess you haven't ever heard of my identity." The demon took several more steps back before turning back to the girl and speaking, "I am The Green-Eyed Demon."

The Green-Eyed Demon's words seemed to echo throughout the entire room. Mion's eyes grew wide with the announcement of the demon's name, though she quickly shook off her look of surprise and a look of indifference replaced it. "The Green-Eyed Demon, eh? Quite a title indeed. I don't see how I wasn't ready for your name," she remarked, an eyebrow raised.

The Green-Eyed Demon chuckled lightly. "Oh, that's not even half of it. You're still not ready for it, Sonozaki Mion. I'll decide when it's time," it spoke as it adjusted the mask on its face so to make sure that it was firmly on and wouldn't fall off.

Confused, the green-haired girl blinked at the demon. "I still don't understand."

"You will when the time comes and the truth is revealed. For now, I just want you to think about what I told you yesterday, as much as you try to deny its truth," the Green-Eyed Demon said to the girl looking up at it. "If you don't, I'll make sure you do tomorrow," it warned her.

Mion nodded. "Yes, I'll think it over then," she told it. However, she had no intention in thinking over the idea that her friends were out to steal Kei-chan away from her and the Green-Eyed Demon's comment about her being an envious person. What she had told the Green-Eyed Demon was simply a lie to make it shut up and go away for a little bit so she could have some peaceful time to herself.

The Green-Eyed Demon seemed satisfied with this and nodded its head. "Alright, that's good enough for today. Remember, this isn't our last time meeting." With that, the Green-Eyed Demon snapped its fingers and was gone.

~~~~X~~~~

**Crimso's Corner**

**Well, that certainly took a little longer than usual. First of all, as I said before, I wasn't even planning to write this chapter for a little while as my computer is in being fixed. Second of all, Ur… I had a second reason but I forgot. Uff. Well, it takes a little while to write a chapter and look over it anyways, so. Spell Check is super annoying on computers that don't recognize the character's names at all, by the way. And grammar check is still annoying as usual. My favorite suggestion it made to me was "I'm a sorry girl!" instead of "I'm sorry, girls!" I don't get why it did that. It was Keiichi's dad saying that, by the way. Most certainly wasn't trying to make him say that. Now that's just a little… odd. I think it was in Chapter 8, but I could be wrong. **

**Gee, chapters look so much longer on microsoft word than they do on the actual website. I feel like my chapters are so short and look unappealing *sits in the emo corner (not to be confused with the Crimso Corner) and cries***

**Next chapter, we'll be getting back to the cool stuff. By that, I mean events that hold a lot of significance to the plot. Of course, everything done in every chapter is important (well, not EVERYTHING, but you know what I mean) but this one is particularly interesting. Hehe. Am I teasing you a bit too much? I like teasing you guys. It's fun because I'm the only one who knows what's gonna happen :D. **

**Now, I just have to wait until my computer comes back. They said it wouldn't be much longer at all. Of course, the tech center is pretty unreliable at times. All the way back when I was in fifth grade, they took my computer and didn't give it back for three months. Of course, that's when I cracked my screen… but. Half of the time they don't even fix the thing or they make it even worse. That's why I was unable to download anything for the longest amount of time.  
Once again, thanks to EVERYONE who reviews! I also want to thank the people who favorite. And also the people who have been reading my story but haven't been reviewing for just plain reading this story. It would be extremely nice if you reviewed, though. You don't know how much reviews mean to me. They make me feel nice on the inside. Tehe.**

**And with that, I'm going to end this overly long Crimso's Corner. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter (getting a little mad at Keiichi yet?) and I thank you for reading it! Leave a review and tell me what you think of the story so far or predictions or what not. Or just say, "I like this story," or something. I just like reviews.**

**~Crimso.**


	16. Chapter 15: Torment

**Hey hey. Was anyone else having problems with Fanfiction on Saturday? (It is Sunday as I'm writing this). Just wondering. I sure hope I wasn't the only one. Whatever, I guess it really doesn't matter. Get ready for some semi-awesome stuff (well, I guess it depends on your view of awesome) this chapter. Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing, by the way. I love you all. *Throws cookies… or cupcakes if you don't like cookies to all my reviewers*. **

**Oh, I got my computer back! That took a lot less time than I thought it was. They repaired the sound! YES! But the battery is just as good as it was before. I can't believe I just spent 130$ on a battery that's no better than the one I had before. Gosh, it still sucks. Whatever. No point going back there or else the same thing will just happen again. The tech center at my school epically fails at repairing computers. Sigh.**

**That being said, please enjoy chapter fifteen! (I can't believe how far I've come with this fanfic… longest one I've written yet. On all my old accounts. Combined.)**

~~~~X~~~~

It was around six or seven in the afternoon when Hisao walked in his house, covered from head to toe with stinky trash and smudged with dirt. He didn't look too happy to be dirty, to say the least. His school clothes had tears here and there from sharp glass or metal that had been lying around the garbage dump he had found himself digging through a few minutes before. He quickly threw off his tattered, dirt-covered shoes and trudged through the hallway to his rather small room.

The house that his family had bought was not very big nor could it be considered small in size. The house was one story high had and only a few rooms. Luckily, there had been enough rooms available so that he could have a room all to himself. Unfortunately for him, that didn't mean that Etsuko wouldn't constantly try to intrude on his privacy to remind him of whatever masterful ideas she had in store for later on. It was quite annoying, really. Though Hisao knew that his sister was just trying to do her best for him, he couldn't help but get a little tired of talking to her at times. To be honest, she scared him. That's why he would always obey whatever she said without question.

Hisao sighed as he collapsed onto the futon, staining it with some dirt that had been on him from digging through the endless trash dump. He had found that he had slowly been growing more and more exhausted as the days past by. _I wonder how much longer it will be until the fun days come to a close, _he thought as he traced patterns in the air with a single finger. _ I… I don't want that to happen._

It only took several minutes until Etsuko slid open the sliding door to his room at what seemed like lightning speed, causing it to make a very large sound and startling poor unsuspecting Hisao half to death. "Hisao! It's going to be dinnertime in a little bit. I made sure that auntie cooked your favorite!" she said to him before sitting directly in front of him on the futon. "You know, since I feel like I've been a bad sister lately."

Hisao nodded. "Oh, thank you Nee-chan. Is mother using soy sauce this time around or is she just going to make it without the soy sauce?" she asked her, wanting to avoid the topic of her little scheme. When she talked about it, it was like she was talking about her favorite rock star or actor. She was _obsessed. _Not that she didn't have a good reason to be, but.

"Auntie says she's going to make it with the soy sauce, because you told her that you liked it better with the soy sauce last time we ate it," Etsuko responded, fiddling with the soft sheets of the futon beneath her. Her cheerful and happy expression then darkened like the sky going from day to night and she looked down. "Hey, Hisao. You don't need to call her mother, you know. She's our aunt…" she muttered.

The black-haired boy looked down, his head titled to the side a little. "B-But you know already, Nee-chan. I-I… don't remember our real parents. They were killed before I lost my memories. S-So our aunt and uncle to me are like parents because they're the ones who live with us and act as parents," he said to her, not liking the subject of their real parents as he did not remember them one bit. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't recall their personality nor could he recall their faces. He couldn't even remember how he acted before he lost his memories. _I-I don't even know if Etsuko is really my sister or if she's just pretending. _He would often question whether or not Etsuko and him were actually genetically related. Sometimes, he would wish that she wasn't his sister. Perhaps then he'd be able to have more friends. However, their eyes of an identical purple shade said otherwise.

Etsuko let go of the fuzzy futon sheets and rested her hand back in her lap. "Well, if you really want to call them by that, you can…" she said. She then fell backwards onto the futon, her arms crossed behind her head. A moment of complete and utter silence followed. It was rather uncomfortable and awkward for Hisao, knowing that his sister was probably thinking about _that_. "How much longer it'll be before I can start? Hm…" she wondered out loud to no one in particular.

The subject made Hisao want to run away and lock himself in a closet. "I-I don't want to talk about t-t…t-_that_ right now, Nee-chan," he told her truthfully, wanting to avoid the subject as much as he could.

"Ah, well that's fine by me. I have something to discuss with you later, though," she said nonchalantly, rolling herself over so that she was lying on her side like she owned the room and futon. Hisao always hated how she acted like his room was her own. She'd always walk in the room without asking and start blabbing on about things that had happened to her that day and other things that she found important to talk about. "Uh… so where were you? You disappeared when we were walking home without a word. I was scared that some kidnapper had come and snatched you up. Though I see now that that's probably not the case," she asked, changing the subject.

Well, it was certainly partially true. Rena could be considered a kidnapper by certain standards, though Rena hadn't been the one that _brought_ him to the garbage dump. In truth, he had run away in attempt to get some time away from his sister for just a few minutes at most. Instead, he had ended up staying with Rena for a few hours and enduring her take-it-home mode. It was probably the longest amount of time he had been away from the presence of his sister in the last six years. The rest, he didn't know about. "O-Oh, I saw something ur… something s-shiny in the distance so… I went to get it. Maybe it was uh, r-rare or something?" he lied, sounding unconvincing.

"It took you _that_ long to get the shiny thing?" asked his sister, though not in a rude way. Instead, she sounded quite interested in what his brother had been doing.

Hisao nodded shakily, wondering how in the world she didn't see straight through his lie like it was glass. It was so obvious! "Y-Yeah! B…But then I ran into a garbage dump and R-Rena-chan was there… she insisted that I helped her dig out some cute things from the huge mound of trash. S-So… I did," he told her.

To his surprise, instead of yelling at him, she giggled happily. "That's kind of funny, Hisao! So, did you find anything cute?" she asked, interested in what her brother had been doing. For what reason, he didn't know. Was she just being friendly? Or was she just trying to intrude in his personal life once again?

"Y-Yeah. We found a whole bunch of things. It was fun…" answered Hisao, deciding that his sister was probably just trying to be friendly with him. After all, she didn't hate him or anything. It wasn't like telling her about this was going to kill him.

"So, that Rena girl is your friend now, hm? I'm glad you made a friend," she replied, picking at a stray strand of fabric hanging off the futon. "Just remember what I told you, alright? You can make friends, but don't get too close to them."

He quickly bobbed his head. "Alright, I understand Nee-chan. I've been following that to the best I can…"

Rena was just a friend to him. It wasn't like they were very close friends or lovers, so Hisao figured that it would be all right if he hung out with her a little more. Having a friend like her wouldn't be breaking her promise, right? It wasn't like they were going to get too close.

…Right?

~~~~X~~~~

It was around lunchtime when Hisao found himself watching the club members eat together, laughing at jokes they were making and telling stories. He held his bento box close to his chest and stood frozen to the ground. For some reason, he felt a little scared about approaching them and eating with them. Not only that, but he had to abide by his sister's rules. He couldn't get to close to them. Eating lunch with all of them might be considered a little bit too much by his sister's standards. Turning away, Hisao sat himself alone at his desk and opened up the top of the bento box to reveal a fabulously cooked lunch. The smell of the freshly cooked meat made his mouth water. He clapped his hands together before reaching a chopstick into the bento box and clasping them onto a small piece of meat. Slowly, he brought it to his mouth and began to chew. He swallowed bitterly, eyeing the club members who were roaring with laughter at a joke Satoko had just made.

"…So then I told him, 'stop being such a weirdo, piggy'!" finished Satoko.

Rika smiled happily at her friend, showing her shiny white teeth. "Wow, Satoko. That was somewhat brave of you. I know that the boys in our class can be quite the weird bunch sometimes. Clap clap clap!" she complemented as she clapped her hands together.

Shion nodded in agreement. "I'll have a word with those boys later, hm? But it looks like I taught you well~," she spoke.

Satoko pouted, her arms crossed in front of her chest. "I don't know what this is about teaching me anything. I just did it all on my own!" she said.

The hysteric hooting of laughter filled the cluster of desks as soon as they saw the adorable pout plastered across her face. "Shion just wants to be proud of how well she's been treating you is all!" chuckled Mion as she nudged her sister roughly in the stomach, causing her to wince.

Hisao let out a small sigh as he glanced back around at the empty seats surrounding him. He would just have to eat lunch alone. He slowly picked up the chopsticks and stuck it in the rice located to the side of the meat. As he thought about how much fun the other club members were having, he found himself unable to taste the rice and meat. He was too upset and lonely to think about the taste.

"Why is Hisao-kun eating all alone? I wonder, I wonder," a voice suddenly called out to him coming from directly in front of him. Hisao's eyes darted up and he found himself looking at the curious figure of Ryuuguu Rena, her head titled to the side as she observed his actions. "Is Hisao-kun feeling upset over something?" she guessed.

A quick shaking of the head from Hisao indicated that her guess was incorrect. "N-No… I'm just a little nervous about… sitting with them…" he admitted, one again looking at the group of kids who looked like they were having a blast. His sister was among the group, commenting every here and there.

A smile lit the orange-haired girl's face. "Well there isn't much of a reason to be scared. They're all very friendly people!" she said. The black-haired boy looked down, unsure if what the girl in front of him was true. "…But if Hisao-kun feels uncomfortable, Rena will sit with Hisao-kun! Just you and me~!" she suggested.

"Y…You don't have to!" he cried out, alarmed at her generosity.

Despite his protests, Rena sat down right next to him, still smiling. "It's alright. I want to talk with Hisao-kun. I really do want to talk to him!" she said. She took off the top of the bento box she had been eating to reveal a nicely packed lunch, beautiful in almost every way. She had a variety of foods cut in ways that could be considered cute and organized nicely. The food had been bitten at in a few places, indicating that she had been in the middle of eating when she moved over to sit with him. Not only that, but she had brought a small box of unopened animal-shaped crackers that Hisao doubted she would be eating at all. She brought her chopsticks to the lunch and began to poke around at it, deciding what she would eat. "Hau… it's all so cute. Rena doesn't want to eat the cute things…"

"W-Wait… y-you packed it for lunch even though you weren't going to eat it?" he asked, confused as to why someone would put in all the effort to make good food and then not eat it. Then again, it _was_ Rena. This was the girl who spent a good few minutes trying to save a single box of animal-shaped crackers from a mob of club members who thought it would be funny to try to steal it from her.

She smiled, holding up the box of animal-shaped crackers. "I brought them so I could look at them, of course! Then I'm going to take them home with me for a second time!" she answered. Passion was visible in her eyes as she thought about the immense amount of cuteness the animal-shaped crackers contained.

Well, that was to be expected of Rena. Hisao simply nodded at her explanation, finding it slightly odd that she could be so enthusiastic about a single box of animal-shaped crackers. Yet, in a way, it seemed somewhat cute. _No, don't think like that, Hisao!_ Hisao scolded himself, shaking his head as if he was trying to brush away the thought from his mind.

"Is it your sister that doesn't want you sitting with the other people?" questioned Rena as she finished chewing her food.

"N-No… Well… Yes…. But no! I'm just scared," he admitted as he swirled his rice around with tip of the chopsticks. "But yeah… it's partially because of that. I'm scared of talking to them… and I'm scared or what my sister will do if I get too close to anyone. She keeps reminding me not to."

Confusion shone in Rena's sapphire blue eyes as she titled her head to the side. "I wonder why Etsu-chan doesn't want Hisao-kun getting close to the others. I guess older sisters are just protective like that. Kind of like how Shi-chan acts towards Satoko-chan," she said, having finished her lunch save for the animal-shaped crackers.

Hisao knew the answer to that question, though he didn't want to share it. "I… guess she's just concerned about how people will treat me. People used to think I was somewhat strange for not talking. People would pretend to be my friend but then they'd always turn on me for being excessively shy. She doesn't want that to happen again…" he muttered as he recalled what little of the past that he was even able to remember. Life in the city was painful for him, to say the least. The very memory of how he was treated left an eternal mark lashed across his mind.

"Rena will never do anything like that," the orange-haired girl spoke, "so you don't have to worry about that kind of thing anymore. Etsu-chan has nothing to worry about either. Rena promises she'll always be the best of the best friend to Hisao ever!" she assured, her voice full of pride as a friend. She then stuck out her hand, offering for Hisao to take it. Slowly, he reached out for the soft hand in front of him and took it in his own, looking up at the blue-eyed girl with unsureness. She smiled at him, gentleness in her eyes. "It's a promise I will keep for eternity. I promise!" she spoke, giggling a little at her wording.

Hisao managed to let a small smile appear on his face as he stared into the eyes of his first friend. And at that moment, he had completely forgotten about his own promise he had made to Etsuko.

~~~~X~~~~

Lunchtime soon came to a close and the club members found themselves working away at their desks once again. Mion, as she had been ordered to, found herself working away at a large packed completely filled with difficult math problems. Some of the problems involved using equations she hadn't even learned yet. Grumbling, Mion placed her hand on her forehead and slumped down on the table. Chie was busy helping out a group of kids around Rika and Satoko's age, so there wasn't really a chance of her noticing that her oldest student was slacking off on her work. Shion had gone to the bathroom and was currently not present. A sheet full of unfinished math problems lay in front of where she usually sat.

Mion's green eyes found themselves staring at the boy she loved so much. He was busy working on a small essay that he had wanted to do to improve his writing skills. She watched as an expression of confusion appeared on his face while he read the instructions on what he was to write. Keiichi was great at mathematics and science though he was not very good at writing essays. He seemed to not understand the topic he was to be writing about as he stared at the instructions as if they would make more sense the more he looked at it.

"Ah, Keiichi-kun, do you need any help with that?" Rena suddenly piped up, glancing at the sheet of instructions that was placed on the desk in front of him.

He nodded, smiling. "Thanks, Rena. That would be a great help. I just don't really understand the topic I'm supposed to be writing about here. I know it's a concept in history, but I don't understand _why _it happened," he explained, pointing to the concept that he just couldn't find himself able to grasp.

Rena bent down so that she could get a better look at the words written on the sheet and suddenly exclaimed, "That's easy! Rena will be able to help Keiichi-kun really easily! Just listen to what I have to say really carefully. Okay, Okay?" she spoke. Mion then blocked out what Rena was saying, not wanting to hear of anything academic at the moment despite being in school. Keiichi wore a brilliant smile on his face as Rena explained everything to him, seemingly going into great detail about the topic. Since when was Rena so knowledgeable about history? Mion had never seen the girl so knowledgeable ever before. If that was the case, why couldn't she figure out how to do the math all by herself? She didn't need Keiichi to help her, did she? What did that mean then?

A loud cackling echoed throughout the room. Mion bolted up in her seat, looking around to see the other students' reaction. Surprisingly, she found that none of them had seemed to hear the cackle. Realization hit her hard when she felt the ominous presence of someone behind her. "I told you a thousand times and I'll tell you once again!" the voice boomed. "She's just having him teach her because she wants to keep him all to herself… and because she loves him!"

Mion didn't have to turn around to know that the figure behind her belonged to none other than the Green-Eyed Demon. The very disgusting presence and distorted voice told her that. _Why the hell does that thing have to show up now? Can't the damn demon thing see that I'm in the middle of class and that I'm busy with math work?_

Another chuckle came from behind her. "Oh, I can see that very well. I just sensed that you were beginning to have dangerous thoughts, so I came," it explained. "Besides, you're not even doing work. Don't lie to yourself. You've done enough of that already, hm?" it purred.

As if a blizzard had hit the classroom, Mion froze to her chair. The Green-Eyed Demon had read her mind. Then that meant… _Why the hell did you come here?_ She snapped at it in her mind.

"You seem unusually bitter towards me, girl. I thought I told you that I'm not your enemy, but your friend? I'm just helping you come to a realization," it spoke to her in its usual intimidating manner.

_And __**I **__thought __**I**__ told __**you**__ that I didn't want your help! _She responded.

If Mion could see through the Green-Eyed Demon's mask, she was sure it would be smirking. "Just take a look at that Rena girl over there. She has oh so much knowledge and she is oh so smart. So why does she need Keiichi to help her with her mathematics constantly?" it wondered in a faux-curious tone. "Oh, I know! It's because she's trying to get him to fall in love with her and because she's trying to get him as far as well from you as possible!"

Mion ignored the Green-Eyed Demon and looking over at the orange-haired girl and the brown-haired boy who were both deep in conversation. Keiichi had an amazed look on his face, probably also figuring out that Rena was so knowledgeable on the topic of history for the first time. Not just that, but he also looked grateful for the girl telling him all this information. He was clearly impressed by her skill. "Oh, it looks as if Rena really is trying to steal Keiichi away, hm?" it taunted her. _Shut up,_ she mentally growled, not wanting to hear anymore from the Green-Eyed Demon. "And remember that day before when Etsuko was _begging_ for Keiichi to help her with her mathematics when you needed more help than her? Etsuko is the same as Rena!" it continued on, pointing a covered finger towards the pink-haired girl concentrating on her work. "I bet you right now she's thinking about snatching up Keiichi as soon as Rena is done with her!"

_Shut up and go away, _Mion thought as she took in what the Green-Eyed Demon was saying to her. Perhaps what it was saying was true? After all, she had noticed this before, hadn't she? Maybe Rena and Etsuko were really trying to steal Keiichi away from her? "That's right! I'm not lying to you! They're all out to get him!"

Mion didn't want to believe it. _Get the hell out of here! Get the hell out of here!_ She repeated over and over again in her head, hoping that the Green-Eyed Demon would disappear into thin air and never appear to her ever again. She decided to deny it all. Her friends would never do something like that to betray her, would they?

"Oh, why do you keep trying to deny it, girl? It's quite foolish of you. Don't you remember the time when Etsuko straight out told you that Rena had a crush on Keiichi, and how you were no match for her? Don't tell me that you don't remember. I reminded you about it before, hm? It's true. They must be working together!" it concluding, cackling loudly with every word it spoke. _I told you to shut up and get the hell out of here!_ Mion screamed out in her mind. "Oh yes! I wonder what they've been doing when you're not keeping a close eye on them? You spent so much time with Shion during the camping trip. Who knows what Keiichi and Rena were up to? Maybe she was trying to kiss him, or maybe even something even _worse_!"

Mion clutched her head tightly, digging into her cranium with her sharp nails. _Go away, go away, go away, go away, go away, go away, go away, go away, go away! _Was all that the green-haired girl could say to the Green-Eyed Demon. Her mind was crowded with the things that the Green-Eyed Demon and told her and her attempts to deny whatever it said without a second thought. "Oh how you would love to be in their place! You would have loved it if were you that Keiichi patted over and over again. Admit it, you fool!"

Her fingernails began to dig further and further into her skull, dangerously close to causing bloodshed as she scratched violently. Her green eyes, usually full of pride and confidence, were now wide and full of fear. For a few seconds, they began to glow a sickly green. The Green-Eyed Demon couldn't stop cackling like a hyena as it watched the girl continue to suffer under its constant taunts.

Thankfully, no one in the room _seemed_ to notice. However, that didn't mean that someone _did _notice.

A very frightened Hanyuu, invisible to everyone but Rika who was currently very intent on doing her science homework, stood glued to the floor. She could only cover her mouth with her hands and let out small cries of "au au au!" She felt as if she couldn't breath as she watched as Mion's eyes began to glow and noticed the expression of torment on her face. "R-Rika!" she finally managed to gasp out, "l-look! Q-Quick!"

Rika groaned with annoyance. "What is it, Hanyuu?" she sighed, turning to face the goddess. An equally horrified look replaced the irritated look on her face when she spotted the green-haired girl. The pencil she had been firmly grasping dropped to the floor as she too covered her mouth. "G-Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" she screamed.

The Green-Eyed Demon instantly stopped cackling when it realized that Mion had been spotted. "Whoops, can't have that happening," it said. The Green-Eyed Demon held up a hand and snapped its fingers together. In only seconds, it vanished from Mion's sight. Upon noticing that the dark presence tormenting her, Mion's eyes returned to its normal color and her disturbed expression faded away.

"W-What is it, Rika?" cried Satoko, whipping around to look at where Rika's purple eyes were focused on. By that time, however, Mion had already returned to normal.

The blonde-haired girl placed her hands on her hips, confused. "Rika, you're so strange. What the heck was that about?"

Rika shook her head slowly, unable to explain. "It… was… it was… nothing. I saw nothing… nothing at all."

~~~~X~~~~

As soon as Chie announced that class was dismissed, Rika jumped out of her seat and dashed out the door. She had forgotten about club activities. Not that it really mattered to her at the moment. She had much, much more important things to worry about.

Small black sneakers hit the summer ground as she ran faster and faster towards her destination: the Saiguden. She eventually managed to reach the thick forest. She was able to masterfully avoid the low branches of the trees and all injury. If she had gotten a scratch of any kind, then she didn't notice. Her mind was too focused on other things to think about any kind of small cut like that.

Once the young miko reached the Saiguden, she tore the lock open and slid the door open with extreme speed. She then stormed over to the small, brown box, almost unnoticeable next to all the frightful torture devices that lined every wall of the shrine. Quickly, she pulled the box open and began to rummage through the many old books contained inside of it.

"W-What are you looking for, Rika?" asked a confused yet horrified Hanyuu.

But the blue-haired girl did not answer as she tossed many books on the floor. "No, not this one, not this one…" she repeated over and over again with every book that was discarded. Finally, she flipped open a book and took a quick peek at it's contents. "Aha! I found it!"

The book that she was holding was the one that was completely blank. Hanyuu leaned in to take a closer look at the blank book in case it contained any words that she just couldn't see from her angle. She found none. "Rika? What are you doing with that book?" she asked her friend.

Rika pulled out a small pencil from her pocket and hovered the graphite point directly above the blank page. She held it there for a good amount of time as she closed her eyes and began to think carefully. After many minutes passed by, she finally placed the tip of the pencil down on the page and began to write with incredible speed.

_My name is Furude Rika. Today is June 1984 (Showa 59). I am physically the youngest head of the Furude Family ever. However, at the same time, I am the oldest one in Hinamizawa. I have experienced many things that have been seen to the human eye ever before. If you don't believe in demons or anything supernatural, turn back now. I will let you know that everything I write here in this book is the complete and utter truth. That I can promise to all of you. _

She flipped the page and continued to write.

_ I'm not sure what's going to happen at this point, but I fear for the worst. Today, I met the eyes of one of my classmates, Sonozaki Mion. She is currently seventeen years old and the heiress to the great Sonozaki Family. She looked like she was being taunted. Not only that, but I saw her eyes glow a green color for a few moments._

_ I was working on my science work at the time when my spiritual partner, Hanyuu (also known as Oyashiro-sama), pointed this out to me. She was terrified. At first, I didn't know what could cause her to be so scared. She was a goddess. She was a goddess that has seen pain five times worse than I have ever seen before. What could possible cause her to grow so frightened? Then, I had a look for myself. I couldn't believe my eyes. _

She stopped writing, wondering what to put in the book next. "I think that should be good for today. I'll write down more when I feel like it," she muttered. She closed the book, causing some dust to fly everywhere as she did so. She carelessly tossed the book in the brown box, watching it carefully to make sure that it actually fell into it. When it did, she relaxed a little bit.

She then sprawled herself out on the wooden floor of the great tool shed, sighing as she did so.

"Hanyuu, what do you think is going to become of Mion?" she finally spoke to the purple- haired goddess.

Hanyuu yet out a small yelp upon hearing her name. "I don't know, I don't know!" she cried out.

Rika glared at her friend with surprisingly angered purple eyes. "You're a goddess, aren't you? You're Oyashiro-sama! You're the goddess of Hinamizawa! How could you not know?" she snapped.

Hanyuu covered her head with her arms, startled at the young miko's sudden outburst. "Au au au! Rika! I told you I don't know!" she cried out, afraid of being yelled at anymore. "Y-You could check this book, though!"

The goddess pointed to a stray book lying on the ground with her index finger, her purple eyes still tightly shut. Rika's eyes traced the length of Hanyuu's arm, trying to locate what she was pointing at. When found, she rolled over and pulled it from the clean wooden floors. _Onifaguchi Legends and Rules #2: Demons._

A gasp sounded out from the blue-haired girl's mouth when she read the shocking title. "H-Hanyuu? Why this book?" she asked her in confusion. The purple-haired girl didn't seem to hear her, however, as her hand were now covering over her ears, fearing what Rika was to do to her next. Rika rolled her eyes at her scared friend and then returned her vision to the book. Ever so slowly, she opened to the first page and scanned through it with interest. Finding nothing, she flipped over to the next page and read it. "Hanyuu, there's nothing interesting in here!"

"W-What did it say?" Hanyuu asked, peaking one eye open.

"Just the stupid legend about Oyashiro-sama coming down and turning the demons invading Onifaguchi into humans," sighed Rika as she slapped the book down on the ground.

"O-Oh… I just picked a random book…" she admitted, looking down at the cover of the book and reading the title written on it. Rika jumped to her feat and quickly snatched the book up before she threw it at the purple-haired goddess in a rage. Startled, Hanyuu was only able to barely make it out of the way of the projectile book before it crashed into a bare spot on the wall and fluttered down to the floor. "Au au! I'm sorry Rika, I really don't know!" the purple-haired girl cried out.

Rika wandered over to where the book had landed and picked it back up. "Darn you, Hanyuu," she cursed. "How could you not know about your own village?"

The goddess's expression turned dark. "It's not that I don't know about my own village, Rika. It's that we can't judge what's going to happen to Mion and why it's happening based on one outbreak," she explained sternly, looking at the blue-haired girl directly in the eye.

Rika nodded. "I understand… I'm sorry for getting so mad at you all of a sudden. I'm just worried," she apologized, her voice just barely a whisper.

"I forgive you, Rika," murmured Hanyuu.

Rika gave the book she held in her hand a small look. Slowly, she sat back down on the floor with her legs crossed. She held the dusty book up in front of her and opened it for the second time, exploring the contents. "Perhaps I'll actually find something if I look…" she muttered, deciding that it was the only option she had at that moment.

~~~~X~~~~

**Crimso's Corner**

**Ugh. Today must be "National Hate on Yourself Day" because I've been bashing myself all day. First at the Science Fair that took place early this afternoon and then right now. I feel like this chapter is super lame for some reason. I really really hate my writing at times. Ugh. I'm always unable to tell if I good or bad on something, so I always assume the worst. Why? So that if it really is terrible, I won't be surprised by people's comments. I really need to stop hating on myself. It's not healthy.**

**In any case, I've been super, super busy recently. You may have noticed this as my chapter updates have slowly been getting slower and slower. Take note that until a week ago I had been peacefully at home without any work or what not. Now, I'm sitting here pilled in work that my teachers have been throwing at us. Yes, in the first week back from school. Math test, Spanish test, really hard history project… way too much to list. But you get the idea, don't you? Right. So I might take a little while to update from now on. That's all right. I want you to know that I'm not abandoning this story or anything like that. I'm just busy. I'm sure you all know what it's like to be busy.**

**I feel so crappy today. I think I'll go take a nap or something.**

**Thanks to everyone who reads/reviews, by the way! I seem to be getting quite a bit of views for **_**Green-Eyed Demon**_** recently O:. For some reason, I think most of them are me going back through the chapters to make sure I don't have any contradictions or plot holes. Damn. Please remember to review! You get a free discount ticket to imaginary Angel Mort if you do. **

**I feel like I left something out in this chapter. Huh. Wonder what that is.**

**Out.**

**~Crimso**


	17. Chapter 16: A Gift For You

**Ugh. I hate it when I accidently fall asleep in the middle of the day and wake up at 8 PM. Especially since I always fall asleep before I do my homework. Then it's like… I wake up with tons of homework to do in only an hour before I'm forced to stop doing my homework and go to bed (I never go to bed, though :|). Yeah, so that's basically what happened. I haven't done my English yet… but I think I'll do that at lunch. **

**And now… I want to thank all of you who reviewed! Of course, I did that last chapter as well. But this time I want to really thank you. So thank you! Honestly, without your reviews… this fanfiction probably wouldn't have gone anywhere. Maybe it would have three chapters at most.**

**In any case, you don't actually have to be reading my ramblings up here. I just like to talk sometimes.**

~~~~X~~~~

The blue-haired girl who was currently sitting on the floor of the great Saiguden slapped the book she was holding in her hands closed. "No information here, either," she sighed out. The poor girl had been rummaging through many books for hours and hours with the hope that perhaps she'd find any information on Mion's sudden outbreak that day in school.

"I think that you should take a small break, Rika. It's been quite a while since you started looking through books. You've already searched through three whole books!" suggested Hanyuu, glancing to a pile of discarded books stacked up next to the intrigued blue-haired girl. There were at least six or seven books in the stack, some having been thrown there after being read half way through.

Rika nodded, but did not but the book in her hands down. _If I can find something, then we might be able to break this fate really easily. I'm not even sure what's going to come, but… _"Sorry, Hanyuu. Just let me finish this book, all right? I think it might have some information on what's going to happen," she spoke as she flipped to the next page. Each page was old and torn slightly in places, which made it hard for the girl to read them at times. She narrowed her eyes as she looked closely at a sentence, attempting to decipher the words.

Hanyuu gave the cover of the book a curious glance. "It's just a book about the Watanagashi, Rika. I don't think that Mion's outburst has anything to do with the Watanagashi," she spoke.

"Who knows? It might have a little information about what has happened at previous Watanagashi ceremonies," Rika muttered as she flipped to the next page, "besides, the Sonozaki family was the family in charge of the Watanagashi festival and anything centered around it. That's why they were crowned one of the three great families in the first place, according to this book."

A loud sigh was emitted from Hanyuu's mouth and she shook her head. "Rika, please… let's get going. It's pretty late and you look really tired."

If Rika were able to see her eyes right now, she'd probably be shocked. They were full of many emotions, easily readable by anyone who was to see them. First off, there was extreme exhaustion. Second, there was worry. And third, there was fear. The poor girl didn't know what to expect after an outbreak like _that_ happening so suddenly just after she vowed to get over her fears of a second 1983 happening again.

Hanyuu tapped her small bare foot on the wooden ground impatiently, causing small hollow taps to echo throughout the tool shrine. Rika ignored her as she buried her head further into the old, dusty book, intent on finding more information.

"Come on, Rika. Let's go already!" pleaded Hanyuu. While Rika feared Mion, Hanyuu was busy fearing what was to happen to poor Rika if she didn't get any sleep soon. The miko looked like she was about to collapse from fatigue any seconds now. Of course, that didn't mean that Hanyuu wasn't scared herself. That outbreak was unlike anything she had ever seen before in all the years she spent watching over the down as the great Oyashiro-sama.

Defeated, Rika slapped the book down on the hard floor. She stood up slowly, brushing off her blue skirt that she had yet to change out of as she had spent the last few hours sitting in the Saiguden. Slowly, she gathered up the many books scattered about the floor and tossed them back into the old brown box.

She fished through the many old books and pulled out the book that did not have a title written on the cover. She opened to the next blank page and set her pencil right above the old paper. _I searched through the many history books of Onifaguchi. However, I was unable to find anything that could tell me what was to happen to Mion. I thought that looking through the Watanagashi book would help me find some information on what happened in previous Watanagashi festivals. Yet, I found absolutely nothing on the topic. Perhaps tomorrow I'll go looking through the many books again. I might be able to find something. First, I need just a small hint as to what's going to happen with Mion. It doesn't matter what the hint is. I just need a hint that will tell me which book to look through in order to find the information that I seek. Perhaps I will be able to beat this fate._ With that, she dropped the book into the box containing the others and closed it up almost automatically.

The blue-haired girl stumbled out of the Saiguden, almost in a trance. She closed the sliding door without thinking at all and began to descend down the very small steps to the soft grass of Hinamizawa. It was rather late; Hanyuu assumed that it was around seven thirty or so. She watched fearfully as Rika staggered down the small steps and to the ground.

"Your pencil was sharper when you went into the Saiguden. Now, the point is rather dull," an unsuspected voice commented.

The young miko jumped and quickly scanned the area for who had just made that strange comment. There was surely no one who would be hanging around the Saiguden at this time of night besides her, right? Perhaps a year ago Tomitake and Takano might have been here, though both of them were currently located far away from Hinamizawa or so she thought. It took about a minute for her to spot a small boy sitting on a rock just outside the Saiguden.

"Y-You! Who are you?" she demanded, a little angry and at the same time scared. What if this person had come to kill her or something else?

The boy looked confused. "What are you talking about? We met a few days ago. I said my name was Akasaka Katashi," the boy answered. Due to being so tired, Rika had been unable to identify the young boy. Her brain just seemed to refuse to process anything that was going on around her.

Rika took a few seconds to recall who the boy was. It was obvious by his name that he was Akasaka's son, but she was unable to remember anymore from one glance. They had met at the Watanagashi set up, hadn't they? He had been very interested in what had happened a year ago and told her that his father had told him everything that they had done to save her life from the greedy Takano. "Oh, I remember you now, Katashi," she spoke.

Then, she suddenly came to her senses and realized what he had just said. "Wait a second, how long have you been here for?" she snapped at him. He had clearly seen him go inside the Saiguden if he had commented that the pencil lead was sharper when she had gone in. Not only that, but that was quite an observant remark. _How the hell did he notice something like __**that**__?_

"Wait, how long I have been in Hinamizawa for or how long I have been sitting out here for?" he asked with his head titled to the side.

Rika hadn't even considered asking how long he had been in Hinamizawa for. Yet, she decided that this was probably important information anyways. Was he there for the duration of the camping trip? Perhaps he had some knowledge about what had happened during the time she was away. She figured it was unnecessary information but could be helpful. In a dire situation like this, anything was helpful. "Uh… both," she answered.

He slid himself off the rock, brushing off his brown jeans. "Me and my father have been here for a very, very long time. We've just been hanging in Okinomiya, mostly," he answered her. "And I've been outside here for quite a while now. I just don't have anything to do."

Wait a second. If he had been here for a while and had such an interest in the Saiguden… then did that mean? Rika remembered a few weeks before when the Saiguden had been broken into and she was unable to catch the culprit. "Excuse me for asking, but have you been inside the Saiguden before?" she asked him. Of course, she realized that it was pretty dumb of her to straight out ask him if he had been inside the Saiguden. Even tourists were informed that there was no one allowed in the Saiguden save for the blue-haired miko.

Much to her surprise, he nodded. "Some girl was trying to break into the Saiguden when I just happened to walk by. She asked me to help her because she hadn't seen me at the school and figured that I was a tourist. So I did because I had nothing better to do," Katashi spoke truthfully.

At first, Rika was angry with the boy for breaking into the tool shrine. Who wouldn't be, after all? Then after a little thought, her anger faded away. He knew who the culprit was and what she had been reading! _Perhaps then, I can figure out a hint as to what's going to happen to us. There's no way someone could break into the Saiguden and read the books without any reason, after all. Perhaps they have something to do with what's going to happen this year. _"Can you tell me what this girl looked like, Katashi? And can you tell me what she did in the Saiguden?" she requested.

The black-haired boy hesitated a moment. "I think she had pink hair that she was wearing in two pigtails," he recalled, his voice sounding as if he was slightly unsure. It had been a while since the incident, after all.

_A girl with pink hair that she wore in pigtails? That sounds awfully a lot like… _"Etsuko!" she cried out. That's it! It must have been Etsuko who broke into the Saiguden. There was no one else in Hinamizawa that looked anything like her. "What the heck was she doing in there, Katashi? Do you know what she was doing?" she begged him, desperate for some kind of clue as to what to read.

The black-haired boy blinked a few times as he scratched his head. "Uh… I think she was reading a few books. I'm not too sure which ones she read, though. I just can't seem to remember the titles…" he answered.

Rika stiffened. "Does that mean you think you may be able to remember the titles of the books she read?" she asked him, desperate for _something_.

He shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't know. I'll try to remember though, Rika-chan," he spoke. Then, he stretched his small body out with a large yawn. "I think I'll be heading to my father now. We have to get back to Okinomiya before it gets too dark," he muttered. "See ya, and I'll let you know if I can remember anything."

Rika opened her mouth to request that he stopped, but before any words could take shape he had already disappeared into the seemingly endless forest. A sigh rang out as she collapsed onto the soft, gray rock that Katashi had been sitting on before. _Well, so much for that, I guess. Still, I think I have to remember which book it was that we found on top of the rest of the books. Perhaps Etsuko knows what's going to happen to Mion._

Hanyuu hovered in the air just barely above the ground and looked at the young miko sprawled out on the rock. "Au au… don't worry, Rika. We'll be able to save Mion, " she reassured the blue-haired girl. However, as much as she wanted to believe her own words, Hanyuu knew that it was probably hopeless. She could feel something in the air. She could feel the presence of something terrible and evil.

~~~~X~~~~

It was getting quite late. It was around seven thirty in the night when Hisao came stumbling into a small store located just outside of Hinamizawa, his sister trailing right behind him. Their aunt and uncle, who had been taking care of them ever since their parents died, had gone out to another city for a quick vacation. They had left their niece and nephew all alone with an empty refrigerator. Though it was extremely late, the two of them figured that they'd need to eat _something_ before they went to bed.

"I'm going to go get some vegetables. You go fetch the meat," Etsuko ordered her brother.

The shy boy nodded quickly and dashed off in the opposite direction. The storeowner sat behind a counter, his arms providing a cushion for his head. He was a very large, muscular, and burly man, more so than most men. Behind him was a bunch of meat of many varieties lined up neatly on a rack.

Hisao was quite the fan of meat. He had been to this store to pick up some meat several times before. This store was particularly known around Hinamizawa for having very good quality meat and a variety to choose from. Tonight, however, he had decided on beef. The black-haired boy reached into his jean pocket and pulled out several shining coins. He sprawled them across the countertop and looked into the storeowner's eyes with his own. "I…I-I'd like some beef, please," he asked.

The storeowner sighed and got out of his seat. He picked out a nice rack of beef wrapped firmly in plastic and handed it to the young boy, swiping the coins from the countertop greedily. "That'll be more than enough to pay for that meat. Thank you for buying from Gorou's store and please come again another time," he muttered, probably tired from his work.

Hisao held the pack of meat against his chest and glanced around the store for his sister. Unable to find her after a few seconds, he began to wander through the many racks of food that lined the store.

Something caught his eye. It wasn't Etsuko, who he had been looking for, but it was something that caused him to stare for a while. Sitting on a shelf was a single bright box of animal-shaped crackers. It was almost exactly like the normal animal-shaped crackers that Rena constantly obsessed over. However, there was one noticeable feature that stuck out. A small label on the box read clearly, _Special edition! Five times the amount of normal animal crackers! All new animal shapes for your enjoyment!_

Hisao stuck his hand back into his jean pocket and fumbled around for any spare coins that he might have missed when he had bought the meat. To his pleasure, he was able to pull out two glistening coins. First, he glanced to the price tag. Then, he glanced back at the coins. He had just enough to buy the animal-shaped crackers. _Should I do it? Would Rena like it?_

Deciding not to think about it anymore, he stuffed his coins back in his pocket. He then reached up and snatched the box of special animal-shaped crackers from the rack and held it in the hand opposite from the one carrying the bundle of fresh beef. Determined, he whipped around and marched back up to the counter and set down the small, red box. The large storeowner looked rather surprised to see him again. "I'd like to buy these," Hisao spoke. He reached into his jean pocket and dropped his last two coins in front of the shop owner.

The shop owner nodded and took the two coins. "Thanks again for shopping here. Come again whenever," he spoke, his tone very low.

At that moment, Etsuko came running up to the counter carrying a whole bunch of fresh vegetables she had picked out. Gently, she put them down on the counter and handed the shop owner a bunch of coins. "Here you go, mister storeowner. This should be enough for the vegetables," she spoke.

The storeowner nodded and took the coins. He then pulled out a brown paper bag and stuffed the vegetables in the bag carelessly. "Thank you for shopping at Gorou's store. Please come again some time," he grumbled, handing her the paper bag

Etsuko took the bag. "Come on, Hisao. Let's go home so we can cook a little dinner and go to bed," she spoke as she tugged at his light blue t-shirt. The black-haired boy nearly tumbled over from being pulled, even though the tug was terribly gentle. He nodded quickly after regaining his composure and hurried out of the store with the bundle of meat and the box of animal-shaped crackers in hand.

~~~~X~~~~

Etsuko carefully chopped up a leek that had been placed in front of her on a cutting board with a small but sharp knife. After she had felt that she had cut it perfectly, she dumped the bunch of leeks into a pot of boiling soup broth. "Ah, this stew is going to be really good! Don't you think, Hisao?" she commented as she stirred the broth and leeks with a spoon.

Hisao nodded. He had been seated at the round dining table not too far away and was busy staring at the red box of animal-shaped crackers. He was to give them to Rena tomorrow. _I wonder if she'll like my present_,he thought as he ran a finger across the edge of the box painted with happy animals of all kinds. _Even if she isn't going to eat it…_

Etsuko was now dumping a bunch of beans into the pot. While she wasn't the best cook, she could certainly create a good meal if she put the effort into making it. It just had been a little while since she had cooked, as her aunt often was the one to do that. She was humming a small song happily as she stirred up the beans and leeks. "Oh, Hisao! I forgot. Do you know how to do that math homework that Chie-sensei assigned to the both of us?" she asked him.

"N-No," Hisao admitted.

The spoon was removed from the pot by Etsuko's rather small hands and was set down on the countertop, abandoned. "Oh, I see. I guess I'll get Keiichi-kun to help me with it, then," she muttered.

Hisao shuddered at the name of the brown-haired boy coming out of her sister's mouth. "D-Does it _have_ to be him?" he asked his sister.

She nodded as she began to unwrap the meat that Hisao had bought. "Yes, it has to be Keiichi-kun."

"But why, Nee-chan?"

"You already know why, Hisao," snapped Etsuko as she finished unwrapping the fresh beef. The black-haired boy yelped slightly at her sudden anger and fell out of his seat, partially because he was shocked and partially because he was scared. She whipped her head at the sound of Hisao's body hitting the tiled floor along with the wooden chair. With a sigh, she turned back to the meat she was currently working on cooking. "Gee, I sure hope that little boy didn't tell anyone about me breaking into the Saiguden…" she muttered.

The sudden change of topic confused Hisao. "Uh… i-it should be okay if he did though, Nee-chan. You could always say y-you were just curious about your new village and stuff," he suggested.

"Stupid Hisao! You know I can't do that!" yelled Etsuko. "The stupid little boy saw what I was reading! If he were to tell anyone exactly which books I had been reading, it could ruin EVERYTHING!"

Hisao, still lying on the floor, titled the chair upwards so that it was once again standing. "I-I don't know why y-you needed that little boy to h-help you in the first place, Nee-chan," he muttered.

"I couldn't open that damn lock!" growled Etsuko. She was now stirring the soup that she was making for her and her brother with extreme speed out of her frustration. "Damn it! It was such an easy lock, too! I just can't open those damn things! Not ever! Not even when-"

"Nee-chan! You're spilling the soup!" shouted Hisao as he noticed some of the soup splatter onto the stove. The pink-haired girl instantly stopped midsentence to look down at the puddle of soup that had been removed accidently from the pot.

"Oops," she muttered as she wiped up the mess with a strip of paper towel. "I just wasn't thinking. Thank you for saving the soup there, Hisao. If you hadn't said something, I'm sure that the soup would have been all gone by now," she muttered.

Hisao reached out his hand to the wooden surface of the chair and pulled himself back up on it. "You're welcome," he murmured.

~~~~X~~~~

The night passed by in a flash and soon it was the next day. Slowly, the days were growing hotter and hotter as they approached the Watanagashi festival. It seemed like the days were passing by quick and that the Watanagashi would be underway in any moment.

Well, for some people, anyways.

"This is taking forever," sighed Etsuko as she walked down the path to the single school in Hinamizawa, her bag slung over her shoulder carelessly. She was wearing her usual long-sleeved shirt and her skirt that reached down to her knees. "I mean, how much longer until the Watanagashi starts? I can't wait another minute!"

Hisao was carefully carrying his black backpack at his side. He didn't want the box of animal-shaped crackers inside to be crushed under the weight of his very heavy math notebook or his homework folder. That would mean the poor little animal-shaped crackers would have to die for a second time. Hisao remembered how heartbroken Rena had been when Keiichi and Mion stole her animal-shaped crackers because all the other food had been so greedily gobbled up. He didn't want to see her so heartbroken ever again. He wasn't sure why, but he knew that he had to make her happy no matter what.

"I-It won't be much longer. They were already setting up a while ago," he spoke, his eyes solely focused on the black bag hanging at his side. He could hear the box of animal-shaped crackers being tossed about inside, causing him to worry about their wellbeing.

"I know, I know," replied Etsuko with the wave of her hand, "I'm just getting a little impatient as all. I just can't wait to see how wonderful the Watanagashi is!"

Hisao sighed at his sister's behavior. He, on the other hand, was not looking forward to the Watanagashi festival. Unlike some of the club members, he knew exactly how bloody and horrifying the festival was going to be when it came. The very thought of it made him shudder. _I don't want the peaceful days to end. Ever. Even though I know that it's already useless to hope for something like that to happen._

The two of them approached the school building and stepped inside the very long hallway. They both trudged down the old wooden floors and opened the door to the one and only classroom in all of Hinamizawa.

"Damn it, Satoko! I'll get you next time!" cried Keiichi as he shook his fist at the blonde girl standing in front of him. On his head was a bucket, some water trickling down the inside. His upper body was completely soaked with ice-cold water. At first, Hisao felt a little bad for the brown-haired boy. He fell for the same exact traps day after day without fail. Then, he felt a little bit jealous as the water _was_ cold and it must have been a hundred degrees outside. He was just _dying_ to have a cold shower to cool himself off.

"Ohohohohoho! You still think you can beat me, lousy peasant? Ohohohohoho!" shrieked the hysteric Satoko, who thought it was hilarious that Keiichi had just been plunged with water for what appeared to be the thousandth time. You'd think that after a billion times, it would get old.

Shion had to grab Keiichi by the collar of his shirt to prevent him from beating up Satoko, who was now trying to act like an innocent child. "What do you mean, bucket of water? I didn't put any bucket of water up!" cried Satoko, fake tears welling up in her eyes.

"H-Hau! Crying Satoko is just too cute! I want to take her home with me!" declared Rena as she scooped up the unsuspecting Satoko and punched Keiichi directly in the face to defend the young yellow-haired girl. Her innocent façade had apparently worked as Rena was now trying her best to defend her from the confused brown-haired boy still sitting down with the bucket on his head.

Hisao slowly approached the orange-haired girl, nervous. He held his black bag closer to his side as he stopped right in front of her. Rena was still nuzzling her cheek into Satoko, now pleading for someone to save her from Rena's grasp.

"Uh… R-Rena-chan?" Hisao said in attempt to distract her from the yellow-haired girl.

It worked, and Rena dropped the poor girl to the floor, causing her to fall on her face. "Oh, good morning Hisao-kun!" she greeted him; having just noticed that he was in the room as she had missed seeing his and Etsuko's arrival. "How is Hisao-kun today, today?"

Hisao glanced around the room. Rika was currently trying to help Satoko to her feet and Shion was still holding Keiichi to the floor. Mion, on the other hand, was sitting at her desk and staring at nothing at all. It was somewhat creepy, to say the least. His sister was pulling her work out of her bag and beginning to set it all up on her desk. Now that no one was looking at him, it was time for him to give the present to Rena. "I-I'm fine," he answered as he unzipped his bag and stuck a hand in.

Rena titled her head to the side as she watched Hisao's actions. "Is Hisao-kun looking for something? Is he?" she asked him.

Hisao panicked a little when he was unable to find the small red box underneath all his schoolwork. Had he forgotten to pack the animals-shaped crackers? He grew frantic as he searched through his bag further and was unable to find the animal-shaped crackers. Perhaps Hisao was just overreacting, as he found the box exactly where he had thought he had put it. He grasped onto the box and began to slip it out of the bag from underneath all his work.

A look of surprised washed over Rena's face as Hisao pulled out the box of animal-shaped crackers from his bag. He held it out to her with his eyes shut tightly, presumably nervous. "H-Here! A-A gift! For you!" he managed to stutter out.

Slowly, Rena took the gift from his hands and smiled at it when she saw exactly what it was. "Wow! Hisao-kun got me animal-shaped crackers?" she spoke with joy and disbelief. She then spotted the small note written on the cover. "Wow! They're super special animal-shaped crackers!" she cried out. Rena gently placed the box down on a nearby desk, much to Hisao's surprise and confusion.

The next thing she did, however, surprised him much more. She suddenly ran up and embraced him, wrapping her arms around his rather small body softly. "Thank you, Hisao-kun. I love them," she whispered, hugging him tighter.

A fierce blush erupted on Hisao's face. He could feel his heart beat quicken and thump louder and louder. _My heart is beating really fast,_ he thought_, w-what is this feeling?_

Rena pulled herself away but kept one hand on his shoulder. She smiled brightly at the black-haired boy, causing his blush to intensify.

Unknown to Hisao and Rena, Etsuko had her purple eyes focused on the two of them. Her eyes narrowed upon seeing her brother's reaction. Why did he bother getting her animal-shape crackers in the first place? "Damn it, Hisao," she whispered under her breath, "I told you not to get close to anyone like that. Especially not _her_."

~~~~X~~~~

"Hey, Keiichi-kun, can you help me with this problem?"

Keiichi, who had been working on his essay before the interruption, looked up to meet the purple gaze of Etsuko standing in front of him with a sheet of math problems. She was smiling brilliantly, as if to catch his attention.

"Uh, Sure. Class is almost over, though," he answered.

Etsuko pulled her chair over and sat down directly next to the boy, placing her sheet of math problems down on the desk so that he could take a look at what she needed to do.

"Oh, this is easy, all you have to do is-" Keiichi began to explain before being cut off by the sudden yelling of his teacher.

"Alright! Class is dismissed!" she cried out to the whole room.

As soon as the children heard her, they burst out of the classroom in a rush to get home as soon as they could. Hisao, who had been putting away some materials for his art project was knocked over by the flood of kids and was trampled by many excited children.

"Oh crap!" Etsuko exclaimed, standing up with realization. "I just realized that this sheet is due tomorrow and I have no idea how to do it!" she cried out. "What do I do, Keiichi-kun?" she then asked the brown-haired boy who was still in his seat. She didn't even notice that her brother was being stepped on by a horde of children.

Keiichi scratched his head. "Well… I guess we could stay after school for a little bit to finish the assignment," he suggested.

"That's good idea!" she said to him with a smile. Then, she removed her gaze from the brown-haired boy and looked at her brother who was currently trying to stand up without much success. "Hey, Hisao! Go on home without me! Me and Keiichi-kun are going to finish my assignment before it's due tomorrow!"

Once Hisao had finally stood on two legs, he nodded at his sister and grabbed his bag. "O-Okay Nee-chan, see y-ya," he spoke. He trudged himself on unsteady footing to the doorway and out the classroom.

When her brother had disappeared from her sight, the two of them began to work on Etsuko's math sheet together. Etsuko was quite an easy person to teach, Keiichi noted. She grasped new concepts with ease. It appeared as if the only reason why she needed help was that Chie had been too busy teaching the very young kids how to divide and multiply their numbers to explain how to do her math homework properly.

"Therefore, here, X is equal to twelve," Keiichi finished explaining. "Do you understand?"

She nodded. "Yup! You're a great teacher, Keiichi-kun! It suddenly all makes sense to me!" she cried out with joy. "I was worried about what Chie-sensei would say if I was unable to turn in my homework on time."

Keiichi chuckled a little bit at the pink-haired girl. "Well, we're only halfway through the sheet so don't get excited about finishing just yet. You might run into a different concept that you have trouble with," he spoke.

The two of them continued to work on the many math problems written across the sheet. Keiichi often wondered why Chie didn't spend more time helping the older kids with their work instead of helping the younger kids. Perhaps Mion wouldn't be so terrible at her schoolwork if that were the case. _Then again, I guess she just doesn't want to put the effort into getting good grades. That's Mion for me, I guess. _A light blush appeared on his face as he thought about the girl that had captured his heart. Come to think of it, she hadn't spoken much at all today, had she? She just seemed to be staring into space the entire day. _She even walked out of the room without even saying anything about club activities. _

Noticing that Keiichi didn't seem to be paying too much attention to her, Etsuko began to grow a little angry. She began to think of something to say so that she could grab his attention. "It's really hot, isn't it? I'm starting to melt it's so hot!" she commented.

Indeed, it was very hot outside, even more so than yesterday. The small remark was able to bring Keiichi back to his senses and he chuckled slightly. "Yeah, the days are slowly getting even hotter, aren't they?" said Keiichi.

He then noticed that Etsuko was wearing a shirt with very, very long sleeves that almost covered her hands as well. If it was so hot outside, then why didn't she just wear a shirt with shorter sleeves? Now that he thought about it, Etsuko was always wearing shirts with long sleeves. Never had he seen her wear a shirt with short sleeves. "Hey, why don't you just roll up your sleeves?" Keiichi suggested.

Almost immediately, Etsuko shook her head. "No! I'm absolutely fine!" she replied with great speed. It almost seemed as if she was scared of something.

Keiichi blinked his eyes. "Here look, let me do it for you," he said as he reached his hand out to roll up the pink-haired girl's long, white sleeves. She opened her mouth to protest, but was too late. Keiichi grasped one of her long, white sleeves and pulled it up her arm so that she would be a little less hot.

Then, he instantly realized why Etsuko didn't want him to do that.

What seemed like thousands of scars covered her arm up and down her skin. They looked like slash marks or marks from the blade of a sharp knife. The scars went in all different directions, some intersecting with others. It seemed as if there wasn't a patch of skin that didn't have a scar going across it. The sight of all the scars was absolutely horrifying to the eye. How could one get so many scars just on one arm? Did that mean that Etsuko had scars on her other arm, too? Keiichi was curious, yet scared at the same time. Trembling, the brown-haried boy pulled up her other sleeve to reveal an equal amount of scars staining her soft skin.

That's when he remembered something. Something Ooishi had told him.

_"The strange thing is that the wounds looked like nothing a human could do. There were five giant lines going up and down his body a long with many other wounds, like the claw markings of some kind of animal."_

_ Keiichi's blue eyes widened at the gruesome tale. "Some kind of… animal?" he repeated in disbelief._

"Oh hell…"

~~~~X~~~~

**Crimso's Corner**

**Are you surprised? Did you see it coming? **

**Hehe. I'm sure you guys have a bunch of questions right now. Well most of them should be answered by the end of this fic and half of those should be answered in the next chapter. Tehe. You're probably wondering right now: What caused those scars? What is Etsuko plotting? What's going on between Hisao and Rena? What the hell did she do in the Saiguden? How much longer will it be until Katashi remembers what Etsuko read in the Saiguden? **_**Will**_** he remember what Etsuko read? Why the heck do you keep putting animal-shaped crackers into the fic when you said they probably wouldn't appear again in chapter 12? Why the hell didn't Mion do anything this chapter besides stare at the wall?**

**Well, besides those last two, they'll all be answered. The reason why Mion didn't do anything this chapter is that I just couldn't find a place for her in this chapter. I believe this is the first chapter where she didn't say anything excluding the prologue. I could be wrong, though. As much as I wanted to include our favorite older green-haired Sonozaki twin, I just couldn't. As for the animal crackers... well, I just felt like including them again.**

**Yeah, so that's basically all I have to say. Might take a while until next update. I've been busy is all. Sorry for the short chapter.**

**Please review because I love you.**

**~Crimso**


	18. Chapter 17: Countless Scars

**So it's Tuesday and I have the whole day off. Thank god. No homework, either! I also have Friday off. I wish school would just end already so we could get into summer. Honestly, summer = Love. I'm getting terribly bored of going to school (well, aren't we all bored of going to school) and want everything related to work to end. Right now. Gee, why must school be so torturous? Don't make me go back there, ever!**

**On that note, you can ignore whatever the hell I say up here. I just want to say… stuff because I'm lame and have no one to talk to.**

**Okay, that's really the end. Now let's enjoy chapter 17!**

~~~~X~~~~

"I told you not to look," growled a stern, angry voice. Etsuko was clearly upset with the horrified boy and was making sure that she showed it on her face. After all, her biggest secret had just been discovered. A secret that she had planned to bury away like the remains of a dead body.

"I…I'm sorry," was all Keiichi managed to say. Trembling, he took his hand away from her arm and let it slap down flat on the desk in front of him. Her scars were still clearly visible to his eye. The scars looked like no scar or wound that Keiichi had ever seen before. How she had gotten such terrible marks was supposed to forever remain her secret.

However, it looked like that secret wouldn't be upheld.

Growling, the pink-haired girl rolled her long sleeves back up until they completely covered her arms, concealing the terrible scars that were etched into her skin for an eternity. "I won't forgive you for this, Keiichi-kun. But it looks like I'm going to have to explain how I got these now, hm?" she told him, her voice ridded of her usual cheerful façade.

He slowly shook his head and backed away from the cross girl. "No… that's alright, Etsuko. You don't have to tell me anything. I already know what happened from Ooishi," he muttered. Perhaps there was more to her tale, but Keiichi knew better. Some secrets were to be left unshared. He himself had a secret that he would rather keep hidden from those who didn't know of it. He was thinking of the incident with the toy gun. That was a secret he had that he would never share to another soul. He knew exactly how Etsuko felt.

"What did he tell you?" demanded the pink-haired girl.

Her voice was so full of fury that Keiichi had to wonder if the girl sitting next to him was really the Etsuko he knew. A part of him, however, knew that this was a side that she decided to mask. He couldn't bear to look at her. He turned his head away from her slowly so that his eyes were focused intently on something other than the angered girl. "He told me about how there was one boy who was found dead covered in wounds just like the scars that you have. There were three others injured… one of which died from blood loss later on," he spoke, recalling Ooishi's gruesome tale with ease.

"Is that so…" she murmured.

When Keiichi looked back up at the pink-haired girl, the anger in her eyes had been replaced by pain and sorrow. She probably knew the two people that died really well. After all, they were her age, weren't they? It wouldn't be strange if the four children that had been attacked to be her friends. He wanted to express to her how sorry he was to her and how bad he felt that she had to go through something so horrifying. Yet, he couldn't find the words to express his feelings. Instead, he said nothing to her. What could he possibly say to comfort her?

"Hajime," she whispered in a voice so quiet that the brown-haired boy could barely hear it. Perhaps he wasn't even meant to hear it.

"Hajime?" Keiichi repeated.

Etsuko gave him a sorrowful nod. "Yeah, Hajime. Yamakawa Hajime. That was the name of the boy who was killed…" she spoke softly. The pain from the memory of that boy clearly showed in her tone of voice and in her deep purple eyes. "And the girl who died of blood loss was called Tatsuko Bunko. Aoi managed to live, just like me, but…" the girl was nearly on the verge of tears, clearly trying to hold back whatever melancholy she had held in her heart for so many years.

He couldn't help but feel a little curious. "Did… Did you know them? The people who were killed," he asked her.

She nodded slowly. "Yeah. Bunko was a very close friend of mine. Maybe you could even call her my best friend. Aoi wasn't hurt too badly, thank gosh, but she was also my very close friend. She moved away from Hinamizawa after the incident happened, though," she explained, tracing patterns on the cold desk in front of her. "As for Hajime…" she spoke before she paused. A single tear drifted from one of her eyes and snaked down her cheek. "…I… I was in love with him…" she finished.

Shock painted the brown-haired boy's face. Shock which Etsuko noticed instantly. "Well, I guess you could hardly call it love because I was so young… but I really liked him. I really, really liked him," she told him. Small amounts of joy filled her when the peaceful memory of him drifted through her mind, though tainted by the grief of his horrifying death. "And I've never gotten over him… even though he's long dead."

Keiichi could only imagine how the pink-haired girl in front of him felt. What if he were to lose Mion? He would never be able to get over her. Not ever.

Now, the pink-haired girl wasn't even trying to hold back her tears as they began to fall off her cheek and patter against the floor. "He liked me too. He told me that he really liked me the day before he died. It was the day before the Watanagashi that year. And then… I told him that I liked him, too!" she cried out, loudly yet at the same time full of softness. "Then he promised me that he'd never leave me and that he'd always be there for me! And yet, the very next day…!"

He wanted to calm her down somehow, but could not come up with any way that he could possibly do so. He understood that the pain that filled her heart and broke it was too harsh to ever just disappear as if it had never existed in the first place. It would be an impossible task.

"I tried to save him! I tried to protect him! But that stupid _idiot_ was so stuck up that he decided that he wanted to be the hero and tried to save _me_. A-And he couldn't. It was too much," she continued on, unable to keep the memories to herself any longer. "If I were stronger… perhaps I could have saved him from his death…"

Wait a second. What about Hisao? What happened to him? Ooishi had mentioned nothing about a young boy being found injured at the scene. "Etsuko… about Hisao…" he tried to say gently.

As soon as those words came out of his mouth, her crying ceased. "That's enough. I've told you way too much already," she muttered coldly, looking down so that her bangs shadowed her eyes.

And what was this about trying to save the boy called Hajime from a murderer? Ooishi said that no one was ever able to figure out who attacked the children. Did that mean that Etsuko knew the creature that had attacked them was and who they were? If so, then why didn't she or that one girl who survived the attack tell a police officer? So many questions flooded his mind. It was just too much for Keiichi to keep to himself. He had to find answers. "And what about the person who attacked you? Ooishi said it could have been an animal. Was it a human or an animal? And if it was a human, who was it? Why didn't you tell anyone?" he questioned her, dying for an answer to each and every one of his questions.

He did not receive an answer. All he received was a harsh glare from her tear-stained face, red from crying. "I told you I already told you enough already! Now that's enough with all your questions!" she snapped at him, silencing him instantly. She swiped up her unfinished math homework from his desk and stuffed it into her backpack with great speed. Without saying another word, Etsuko stormed out of the room, leaving behind a very confused and surprised Keiichi.

~~~~X~~~~

Two figures climbed up the many steps to the Furude Shrine. The people who had been working on setting up the festival had decided that they had done enough work for the week and were to return to setting up for the festival the next week. After all, they still had a little while until the Watanagashi was to take place.

"A-Are you sure it's okay to have a picnic in front of the Furude Shrine?" asked a very nervous Hisao as he watched the ground grow further and further away from him. "After all, it is owned by the Furude Family, right? Won't Furude-san get mad at us if she learns that we were hanging out in her garden?"

The orange-haired girl climbing up the stairs next to him laughed a little bit. "It's perfectly fine, fine! Keiichi-kun, Mi-chan, and Rena often have picnics up here! Rika-chan sometimes joins us but she never once got mad at us for eating on her property," she reassured the still unsure shy bow.

The two of them reached the top of the stairs and was greeted by the peaceful atmosphere of the Furude Shrine. For some reason, the Furude Shrine was very calming to the village. It was as if the great Shrine was protecting the entire village from any kind of harm. The fact that there was a great amount of flowers decorating the area behind it helped the peacefulness of it all. It was a great place to hang around and have a picnic every once in a while. This was exactly what Rena and Hisao planned to do.

Rena was carrying two bags full of delicious smelling food. Hisao had often overheard the other club members talking about how amazing Rena's cooking was and how they were so jealous of her ability to cook such great meals. Of course, Hisao himself had never tasted her food. As such, he was looking forward to tasting whatever cooking skills she had. He could tell just by the delicious fragrance that the bags emitted that whatever he was going to eat was probably much better than anything he had ever tasted before.

Once the two of them had found a comfortable spot, Rena set the two bags down. She reached into the one that had been placed on the left and pulled out a large, rolled up picnic blanket. She smiled as she spread the soft blanket out, covering the many blades of grass that decorated the ground. Hisao crawled on to the blanket, flattening out its wrinkles with one of his hands as he stroked the soft fabric. Rena placed several bento boxes in front of them, each one containing a different kind of food.

"Please have as much as you like, Hisao-kun. Rena worked especially hard on everything just for you! Hau~!" she told the black-haired boy as he stared in awe at the many kinds of food Rena had made for the two of them. He had never seen so much food in all his memories. _It must have taken her forever too cook all this, _Hisao thought as he tried to decide which food to eat first.

Rena hummed a tune as she picked up a piece of pumpkin with her chopsticks. "So… how are you?" she asked him for lack of any better way to start up a conversation with him.

Hisao slowly brought a piece of fresh steak to his mouth and began to chew on it. It was cooked perfectly and tasted absolutely wonderful. It was much better than anything that his aunt or Etsuko had ever cooked for him. How someone could gain such amazing abilities, Hisao didn't know. "I-I'm good. The food you cook is really… a-amazing," he replied.

A light blush appeared on Rena's face. "Do you really think so, Hisao-kun? Do you really think that Rena's cooking is good?"

He nodded. "Of course!"

Rena smiled brilliantly. "I'm glad!"

Hisao held his chopsticks in the air, glancing around for which food he was to eat next. There was so much. How was he going to chose which one to eat next and which one to save for last? He had always heard that he should save the best for last, but he wasn't too sure in this case. He then spotted some pumpkin lying in one of the bento boxes full of other fruits. He had never tasted pumpkin before. Deciding that it would be next, he dove his chopsticks into the bento box and pulled out a large piece of pumpkin. He then brought it to his mouth and swallowed it up.

"Wow! Pumpkin is really good!" he commented before reaching for another piece of pumpkin.

Rena chuckled a little bit. "Has Hisao-kun never had pumpkin before this?" she wondered.

Hisao nodded. "Yeah, this is my first time having pumpkin," he answered, stuffing another piece of pumpkin in his mouth. He paused for a few seconds, dropping the pair of chopsticks at his sides. "Well… I think it's my first time having pumpkin. I don't remember…" he added.

Sensing that something was wrong with Hisao, Rena frowned. His tone of voice made it seem as if he was upset about something. "Is there something wrong, Hisao-kun, is there?" she asked him curiously.

Hisao didn't know if he wanted to tell her about his lack of memories. But since Rena was his friend, she wouldn't make fun of him or anything like that, would she? Perhaps he could share his secret, just with her and with no one else. His lack of memories made him feel extremely insecure. He had heard from people before that sharing thoughts often made people feel better about themselves. "Uh… can you promise to keep a secret, Rena?" asked Hisao.

Rena titled her head to the side, a little confused as to what Hisao had to say. "Of course! You can count on Rena to keep a secret. After all, I am your friend, right?" she responded, smiling as she usually did.

Nervously, Hisao began to play with the fabric of the blanket beneath him. "Well, I don't really know how it happened… but I lost all my memories a few years ago. It's really strange, but no matter how hard I try I can't remember. I just remember waking up one day in a hospital bed and seeing Etsuko. She told me that I was her brother and that my name was Hisao. That's the only way I know about my name and my family," he explained to the orange-haired girl. "I don't even know if Etsuko is even my real sister…"

She listened to him carefully, taking in everything that he had to say. She was his very first friend, after all. She had long ago vowed to take care of him and listen to whatever he had to tell her. At this time, he needed her to listen the most. "That's sounds so scary, so scary. Are you alright?" she asked him, worried for him.

Hisao nodded. "It's alright. I don't even know what memories I used to have. What if they were painful ones? Then I certainly wouldn't want to remember them," he responded. "I think it might just be better this way," he added on.

Rena looked a little unsure. "I feel so bad for Hisao-kun. But thank you for telling Rena about how you have been feeling. It's always good to talk to friends about these kinds of things. I have learned that if you talk to people about situations you're in, it gets a little better," she spoke. "So please Hisao-kun… if you ever feel like something is wrong or if something is bothering you, tell me. Rena will definitely help you! No matter what happens!"

Hisao smiled. "Thank you, Rena."

He appreciated her generosity, though he had to turn down the idea of telling her everything. He just couldn't tell her what was about to happen. His sister would kill him. At the same time, however, he decided that if anything else were to come up, he would most certainly inform her.

Perhaps if he had told her, the bloody tragedy ahead could have been avoided.

~~~~X~~~~

"…And that's why we need your help! So please help us, Sonozaki-sama!" pleaded a businessman.

Mion and Oryou were seated in the Sonozaki Manor on two very soft cushions placed parallel to each other. Two businessmen had shown up at the manor just a few minutes ago to beg for the Sonozaki's assistance in their work as the amount of money they were receiving had been declining fast. They were now on their knees seated a few feet away from the two Sonozaki family members, pleading for their help.

"The Sonozaki family has no interest in your business," grumbled Oryou in her usual gruff and unfriendly voice. "You may leave now."

But the two of them did not budge from their positions. "Please, Sonozaki Oryou-sama! We really need the Sonozaki family's help! We have heard of the amazing things that your family has done and beg for that kind of assistance! If you and the rest of the Sonozaki family could just help our business even just a little, we are sure that we'll be able to raise our money!" begged the other businessman seated on the left.

The two men were clearly irritating Oryou as she clenched her fist and began to growl a little. "I already said that the Sonozaki family has no interest in your silly business! Now off with you both!" she snapped at the two of them.

When they both refused to leave, Oryou had to call for several servants to drag the two of them out of the building. "Please! Just a little help would be fine! Don't do this to us!" they both continued to beg for assistance, even as they were being shoved out the door. Finally, the servants managed to drag them both away and shut the door. Their futile pleads were still able to be heard, even from inside the manor.

"Geez, businessmen these days. Don't they realize already that we don't have any interest in helping them out? Those guys are the second ones this week," grumbled Oryou.

Mion didn't notice her grandmother's complaining. Not only that, but she had failed to notice that there were even businessmen in front of them a few seconds ago. She had been lost in her own thoughts. These days, it seemed like she was often spacing out. She found herself becoming unable to focus on the task at hand and often getting distracted.

Recently, the Green-Eyed Demon had decided to stop showing up and random times and instead decided to constantly follow Mion everywhere. It would never leave her sight, making sure that she never forgot what it had told her before. There was no way that she could focus when the Green-Eyed demon was always whispering dangerous thoughts into her ear. They either had to do with Rena and Etsuko trying to take Keiichi away from her or how she was jealous of the attention that they were getting from Keiichi. And now, it had begun to tell her to do something about them.

"Kill them already," whispered the Green-Eyed Demon, "kill those pests that are trying to take Keiichi away from you. You are the only one who is suited for him. The other ones should just die."

Mion tried to block out the Green-Eyed Demon's words to no avail. _I told you to leave me alone already. I don't believe you, _she thought.

"Oh? But if you would just listen to me, everything would be better," it spoke. The Green-Eyed Demon placed its glove-covered handson the green-haired girl's shoulders and drew itself closer to her. "Just trust me. I'm your friend, don't you remember? Friends never lie to each other," it purred as it began to stroke Mion's chin with one of its fingers.

Mion moved her head so that the Green-Eyed Demon's finger was no longer touching it. She hated the feel of its gloves. It disgusted her to no end. _Shut up and leave me alone!  
_ The Green-Eyed Demon let out one of its taunting cackles. "Oh, don't deny it! You know that what I'm saying is true! After all," it began to lean it's head in closer to hers, hovering where it's concealed mouth over her ear. "Aren't you forgetting something?" it whispered.

_GO AWAY!_

"Mion? Are you all right? You have not been acting like yourself recently," asked her grandmother, breaking Mion away from her thoughts.

Mion let out a fake laugh and rubbed the back of her head. "Y-Yeah. I'm perfectly fine… so don't worry! I've just been feeling a little off recently, if you know what I mean."

Oryou blinked a few times at her granddaughter. "No, I do not know what you mean. Are you perhaps getting a little sick once again? I do realize you were sick a little while ago. I believe that that sister of yours was the one to give you the illness," she spoke.

The green-haired girl shook her head. "Nope! I'm not sick! I don't feel like I'm going to throw up or anything. I guess I've just been out of it. I get that sometimes. Ever happen to you?" she said to her grandmother nervously, trying to distract her grandmother's thoughts away from her recent behavior.

"No, it's never happened to me," muttered her grandmother.

Trying to think of something to say, Mion began to scratch her head. "Well, uh, it happens to people sometimes! Shion told me the other day that she totally was blanking out for a few days because she had started to feel a little odd or something like that!" she lied. "I bet if you asked mom, she'd tell you that it's happened to her before too!"

Oryou sighed, shaking her head. "You're such a strange child at times, Mion. You remind me a lot of your mother in many ways. I have yet to decide whether or not that's a bad thing," she replied.

Mion broke out into a fit of faux-laughter, causing her grandmother to look at her strangely. "GAHAHAHAHA! Well they say that mother and daughter are alike, don't they? I bet it's the same for everyone! GAHAHAHAHA!" she spoke, saying the first thing that came to her mind in attempt to lure the topic away from her behavior. She couldn't let it show or let anyone become suspicious of how she had been acting. Not only that, but she was attempted to distract _herself. _Perhaps if she forgot the Green-Eyed Demon was there, it would disappear for good.

"I am not like Akane," mumbled Oryou, having fallen for Mion's trick, "so I don't believe that."

The green-haired tomboy rubbed the back of her head. "Well yeah! You don't remind me much of mom! I wonder where she got that from then? Ahahahaha…."

Oryou sighed. "This is exactly the behavior I was talking about, Mion. You are not acting like yourself. Is there something wrong?" she asked.

Mion felt herself being crushed as her attempts to distract her grandmother shattered into a billion pieces. "No, I am perfectly fine, thanks!" she spoke as she stood up from her cushion. "Now if you will excuse me, I need some time to myself! Good bye, Batcha!"

She ran from the room, leaving behind a very concerned Oryou. She then found herself dashing through the hallways without a destination. _What am I running from? _Mion wondered as she continued to sprint down the long hallway and past the many rooms that connected to it. She stopped in the middle of the hallway, breathing heavily.

"Nice try, but I'm still here," laughed a distorted voice that could only possibly belong to the Green-Eyed Demon.

Mion yet out a yelp of surprise and dashed into the nearest room. The room that she entered was a guest room that had gone mostly unused for the last several years. As such, the room was devoid of furniture save for a small futon lying out in the middle of the room.

"Stop trying to run from me. I'll follow you everywhere, no matter what…" it whispered in her ear. Her green eyes instantly grew wider when she heard the Green-Eyed Demon's voice so close to her ear. _I've told you, leave me alone!_

"No, never will I leave you alone. You won't be set free until you accept what I have been telling you," the Green-Eyed Demon spoke, cackling a little at the green-haired girl's fear.

All she could do for the rest of that night was sit there and listen to it's constant taunting and cackling. But now, she was sure of one thing. The Green-Eyed Demon wouldn't ever disappear, and she couldn't run from it no matter how hard she tried and wished for it.

Perhaps, she should just give in to its taunting. There was no other way, was there? _No, that's wrong, Sonozaki Mion! You have to stay strong! You can fight this demon; so don't listen to a word it has to say!_ She thought, faking confidence in her words.

On the inside, she had already known from the beginning. Everything that the Green-Eyed Demon was saying to her was completely true.

After all, the Green-Eyed Demon knew her best of all.

~~~~X~~~~

**Crimso's Corner**

**Urgh, this chapter is so short. I can't believe that it's only 4,000 words! This is like... the fourth shortest chapter. Third, if you discount the prologue. I have this rule that I'm not allowed to submit anything unless it's over 5,000 words but… I guess I can't really do much about that. I have something in store for you the next chapter that I'm keeping until then, so if you can just survive on this really short chapter until I get that written up. The most annoying thing about this chapter, though, is Microsoft word's grammatical suggestions. They're all wrong. I wish computers could be a little smarter.**

**By the way, I'm sorry if the end of the chapter confused you. I thought about deleting it for a little bit, but decided not to. If you have any questions about that part, then you can shoot me a message. Of course, I won't answer any questions if it involves giving away the plot or anything that's going to happen. Tehehe, you are going to have to keep reading and find out the answers to plot related things yourselves. But if you need any clarification about anything that's happened in this fic so far, I'll give you an explanation. This fic is going to get a little confusing later, so it's better to clear some stuff up now if you have any. **

**I honestly don't have too much to say here. I think I need to go take a nap or something. My brain isn't working at all today. It wasn't yesterday, either, which caused me to fail a Spanish test! Yay! I think I just need some time off… that would be great. Thank god for the long weekend coming up.**

**As always, please be sure to review! Your reviews always make me feel good~. I'm serious. If you have any predictions, thoughts, compliments, if you need to point out a few grammatical errors, or whatever, just write a review. I don't care if it's a quick one or what. Your reviews really inspire me to write a little more and a little faster. So yeah…**

**Out.**

**~Crimso**


	19. Chapter 18: GreenEyed Demon

**Hello readers. I'm in study hall right now (which we have instead of History and Spanish. Thank god, I suck at both subjects.) My friends are also writing their fanfictions right next to me. Haha. They say hi, by the way. Oh yeah, I need a better summary. Most Higurashi fics are like "IT'S NOT OVER BECAUSE SOMETHING BAD IS GOING TO HAPPEN!" Man, I need something super attractive D:. Ur, I'll come up with that later. Just letting you know in case the summary changes. Avoiding some confusion here is all. By the way, do you prefer GreenEyed Demon or Greeneyed Demon? I changed it because I felt as if it was grammatical correct but… it looks a little odd now that I've been using Greeneyed for the last month or so. Let me see if I can ad a hyphen in. It didn't work the first time.**

**So, now, I'm going to thank all my reviewers. So thank you: Alya17, Unknown137, Triple Baka, Blood-Lust1059, KxM, xXemmaliesXx KingOfStories01, and especially to The Minster of Silly Walks for reviewing every chapter and writing such awesome reviews. I mean it. (And no, your reviews aren't work to read : P. I actually really enjoy them).**

~~~~X~~~~

Four figures stood in the deep forest, all bunched together in one group. Satoko stood in front of the others, her hands around her chest as she puffed it out proudly. "I suppose you're wondering why I called you here, aren't you?" Satoko spoke to the group as she tapped her foot. They all nodded in response. All of them had been suddenly called to the forest after school when Mion had gone home without saying a word, canceling club activities. "Well that's because you're all here for my trap trial!"  
Keiichi, standing in between Shion and Rika, shot Satoko a confused look. "Excuse me Satoko, but what's a trap trial?" he asked her.

The girl let out one of her usual shrill laughs at the brown-haired boy's confusion. "Ohohohohoho! A trap trial is when I test out my traps on you! I've set thousands of traps in this forest! Your goal is to race each other through the forest. There are many traps that will hinder you. The first person out wins!" she explained.

Rika frowned. "Mii, I hope you're not planning any fatal traps, Satoko. Poor Keiichi is too dumb to survive a great amount of traps. Your usual traps are much too much for him," she spoke.

Satoko crossed her arms, an eyebrow raised. "Well, that's Keiichi-san for you. He's a stupid peasant."

Keiichi sighed, rubbing his temples with his fingers. "Why are you guys my friends, again?" he wondered aloud. He would ask himself this question on a daily basis. All Satoko really did would make fun of him. Nevertheless, he figured that she was just trying to have fun. After all, she was a huge brat at times.

"Now, now, Satoko, don't bully the poor Kei-chan. He can hardly take all the bullying you give him on a daily basis," scolded Shion, waggling her finger.

Satoko shrugged off Shion's scolds. "Whatever. Let's just start my trap trial already."

The yellow-haired girl whipped herself around and pointed her finger deep into the thick trees. "Walk out of the forest this way. Just be careful of traps. I made sure they're practically invisible," she instructed the three of them.

Keiichi grumbled slightly, fearing for what was to come. Satoko's traps were dangerous enough before. What if she had elevated her trap's danger level? Keiichi found it easy to picture Satoko setting up a trap that caused instant death, perhaps a bunch of sharp knives that shot out of nowhere. He gulped, fiddling with the rim of his collar nervously.

Satoko held one of her tiny hands up flat "On your mark, get set, ready, go!" cried Satoko as she flung her hand down as if she was karate chopping someone. As soon as they heard the single, Rika, Shion, and Keiichi dashed at full speed ahead into the dark woods. Keiichi noticed that Shion and Rika didn't seem the least bit afraid of whatever traps Satoko had set up. It wouldn't be strange if Satoko had told Rika, her best friend, about exactly what kind of traps she had set for them. Ditto with Shion, who was pretty much like an older sister to her.

_Snap!_ Keiichi whipped himself around to meet Rika dangling upside down, a tight rope tied around her foot. She let out a small _mii_ as she realized her current position. "Satoko got me, Keiichi! Please help me down," she pleaded in the cutest tone she could fake.

Deciding that it would be rude to let a young girl hang by her foot, Keiichi nodded. He wandered up to the tree and began to undo the rope around the small girl's foot.

The last thing he expected at that moment was a giant boulder to come flying at his head. Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened. Keiichi just barely ducked out of the way of the huge boulder, not even realizing what he was doing. It took him about three seconds to process what had just happened. If that boulder had hit his head, he would have probably lost consciousness. "Damn it, Satoko! She really is taking this to the next level," he growled before returning to undoing the knot around poor Rika's leg.

A yelp sounded out from somewhere further in the forest and the rustling of leaves could be heard. "Shi just got hit by one of Satoko's traps," muttered Rika.

Keiichi glanced into the distance, seeing if he was able to make out Shion in the distance as he continued to fiddle with the tight knot around her ankle. This was a fatal mistake, as Keiichi didn't notice when the knot came undone, causing poor Rika to fall out of the tree on her head. "Mii," she managed to say, stars spiraling in her eyes. "Dizzy… so dizzy…"

Figuring that it would be okay to waste a bit more time as a trap had just hit Shion, Keiichi helped Rika back up to her feet and examined her head to make sure she was okay. "I don't see any bruises, so it's okay," Keiichi said, holding apart her strands of sapphire blue hair so he could see her scalp.

Rika nodded and muttered a quick thanks before she made her way into the thick woods.

Mad that he had lost time, Keiichi made an attempt to run past Rika and perhaps past Shion who had not been spotted ever since they first went in the forest. At the same time, however, he knew he had to be careful. That last bolder trap could have been fatal if it had hit him in the head. The tricky part was that he always had to be on guard in every direction. A trap could easily be placed from above, below, in front, or behind him. Satoko was a master at traps of all kind and was not to be underestimated in _any _circumstances.

"Watch out, Kei-chan!" a voice cried out. It clearly belonged to Shion, though Keiichi was unable to locate Shion's whereabouts.

Shion's warning came a little too late, however. Keiichi had been running at a quick pace and failed to notice a giant hole in front of him until he had already fallen in. He closed his eyes as he braced himself to hit the hard, rocky floor of the pitfall. Instead, however, he found himself on top of a very cross Shion.

"I told you to watch out!" she snapped at him as she pushed the brown-haired boy off her stomach, causing him to fall on his back.

He let out a small cry and sat up, rubbing his rather sore back. The ground of the pitfall was most uncomfortable to say the least. It was certainly not a place that Keiichi would like to spend a lot of time in. Speaking of which, how were they to get out? Shion had been in the pitfall for quite some time judging by how long ago he had heard her yelp. During that time, Rika had probably passed right by them. The pitfall was rather deep and Keiichi was unable to locate any way to get out of it.

"What should we do?" Keiichi asked the green-haired girl.

Shion shrugged. "I don't know. It looks like there really isn't a way to get out of here," she spoke as she glanced about the giant hole they were in.

Keiichi sighed. There wasn't any way to get out of there, was there? Well, there certainly wasn't an obvious way. At that moment, he wondered how much longer they would spend in that pitfall. Knowing Satoko, she likely had no intention of helping them back up. That would mean that the only possible way to get back up was asking Rika for her assistance. Of course, it was highly possible that Rika had long passed the pitfall and had been caught in some other trap.

"RIKA-CHAN!" screamed Keiichi as loud as his vocal cords would allow him to scream, "WE NEED YOUR HELP! ARE YOU THERE?"

Silence followed. The only noise was that of the echoing cries of the local higurashi cicadas who made their homes all around the village of Hinamizawa. For some reason, the cries of the higurashi cicada seemed lonely to Keiichi. Perhaps Rika had already left the forest. What were they to do, then?

Keiichi slumped himself against the wall of the pitfall with a sigh. He had been excited for the trap trial that Satoko announced, but now he found himself extremely bored. "Is there any way you think we can escape, Shion?" asked Keiichi, desperate for some escape. He certainly didn't want to spend the rest of his day stuck at the bottom of some pitfall trap that Satoko had set.

"Well, we could always try climbing but…" muttered Shion as she glanced at the walls. There were a few rocks embedded in the walls here and there which made it possible to climb up the wall and out of the pitfall. "It could be a little tough."

Keiichi shrugged, standing up. "Doesn't matter to me. I'd rather be up there than down here for the rest of the day," he spoke. Keiichi carefully positioned his foot so that it was on top of a rather large rock in the wall. Scaling up it would be rather tricky, though all he cared about at that time was getting out. He slowly placed his hand on a rock above that one and hoisted himself up to another rock. As he continued to do this, he recalled the time when he and Mion had raced up the cliff back at the camping grounds for a red flag she had hung in a tree at the top of the cliff. If he did the same thing he did back then, then he could surely reach the top. Keiichi pulled himself up further, slowly nearing the top as Shion watched him. She yawned, not having any energy to even try scaling the walls of the pitfall. She leaned back and closed her eyes, having given up on Satoko's trap trial. Perhaps that had been a smart decision, as Satoko's traps could be quite hard to deal with at times. Yet, the competitive side of Keiichi made him not want to lose to anyone. He was sick of losing in ever club activity. Wining this small trap trial would be enough for the brown-haired boy. He had to prove himself to the club.

In a matter of seconds, the boy found himself back on ground level. "Yes! Now it's time to get going!" he cried out to no one in particular. Keiichi whipped himself around and dashed forward, deeper into the forest. As he did so, he found himself speculating what other kind of traps Satoko might have set up for him. There was surely more pitfall traps. After that, Keiichi was sure that he didn't want to go through another pitfall trap. As he continued to run forward, he made a mental note to himself to watch out for any signs of a pitfall trap.

The next trap that was activated was a trap that sent many medium-sized rocks flying at him. Keiichi cried out and covered his head for dear life, worried that if it hit him he'd lose his consciousness. Luckily, he managed to avoid the storm of stones and continued onwards into the thick forest, excited for what traps awaited him yet scared at the thought at the same time.

A good few minutes later, Keiichi found himself in front of a rather obvious tripwire tied to two trees and hovered above a giant puddle of mud. Rika was on the ground, covered from head to toe in thick, brown mud. She had apparently fallen for the trap despite it being so obvious. How could someone _not _notice a blatant tripwire like that?

"Mii, I fell for it," murmured a defeated Rika, her face buried in the mud. "Could Keiichi help me out?" she begged him.

Keiichi stuck out his hand to offer to the blue-haired miko in the mud but quickly pulled it back. He had to do everything he could to win this, and that included leaving a little girl in the mud. "I'm sorry, Rika-chan, but this is a competition and I'm going to win!" he answered. Rika looked shocked. Keiichi had never turned her down like that before.

His mind set, Keiichi stepped away from the blue-haired girl still smashed down in the slippery mud. He had to be careful; otherwise he might fall down in the mud himself. He eventually managed to cross the conveniently located puddle of mud and gave the girl once last glance. She was trying to stand up in the mud. Every time she tried, however, her hands would slip and she'd fall back down. It made Keiichi feel kind of like he was a jerk. No gentleman would ever leave a little girl lying dirty in a puddle of mud.

Sighing, Keiichi went onwards. He could just barely make out the end of the thick trees. It couldn't be too much longer until he would be at the end of the trap trial.

Yet, he knew that Satoko had something left up her sleeve. She wouldn't just leave the finish line so open without any traps. He just knew that she had placed a trap somewhere and was just waiting for him to fall for it. Surely, she had hidden it well as Keiichi found himself unable to locate any traps in the area whatsoever.

The opening of the trees was now in plain sight. If he took just a few steps forward, he would surely be out of the forest one and for all. _All right, Satoko! Hit me with your last trap! Show me just how good you can get when you're serious! _

He glanced about the forest, trying to locate the trap he just _knew_ was there. But where exactly had the little prankster placed it? It could have been anywhere. Taking a deep breath, Keiichi stepped forward. Perhaps there wasn't any trap, after all. Maybe Satoko was waiting to see him and was to activate the trap herself. That was more than likely. After all, she would sometimes activate a random trap out of nowhere whenever Keiichi did something that she didn't want him to do like stealing food from her bento box without asking her.

Suddenly, a whole bunch of barrels came rolling from the clearing. _I was right, _Keiichi thought. Satoko had been waiting for someone to come so that she could activate the trap all by herself. Swiftly, Keiichi dodged the first barrel that came rolling his way. He was then greeted by the sight of another barrel rolling right his way, this time too close to move out of the way. The brown-haired boy crouched down slightly and watched the barrel carefully to perfectly time his movements. If he made his move at the wrong time, then everything could go wrong. As soon as the barrel got close enough, Keiichi jumped up into the air and landed behind it. He felt so proud at having jumped a rolling barrel that he didn't notice the next one coming towards him until a few seconds later. Keiichi let out a small cry, startled. He wasn't sure what he was to do about the incoming barrel. At the very last second, Keiichi threw himself to the floor and rolled out of the way. The barrel tumbled right by him and off into the deeper part of the forest.

Breathing heavily, Keiichi stood up. He had done it. That was the last of it. He had beaten Satoko. A huge grin spread across his face as he took a large, triumphant step out of the thick trees that coated the area.

Satoko stood there, a look of shock and amazement on her face. "Wow! The stupid peasant is the winner!" she spoke, sounding genuinely surprised with the outcome of her trap trial. "I'm shocked that you managed to beat all of my amazing traps. How did you do it?"

Keiichi smirked, feeling satisfaction at having surprised Satoko and having finally won something. "It was nothing," he spoke coolly, brushing a strand of hair out of his face. His hair had gotten slightly messy from rolling out of the way of the last barrel and his clothing had gotten quite a bit dirty. He wiped his hands on his green pants, leaving a rather ugly black smudge on them.

Satoko blinked, her head titled to the side. "Where are the others?"

As if to answer her question, Rika suddenly came stumbling out of the forest covered in thick, brown mud. She tried to rub a little off of her face with her hands but only ended up getting more on her face as her hands were also covered with a great amount of mud from trying to pick herself out of the mud puddle. "Mii, it looks like I get second place," spoke Rika disappointedly when she noticed that Keiichi had already crossed the finish line.

"That leaves Shion-san. Where is she?" spoke Satoko.

Keiichi then remembered having leaving her back at the pitfall trap. At that time, she looked as if she had given up on the trap trial and probably was still stuck down in that hole. "Well, she gave up when she fell into that pitfall trap. She couldn't get out of there. I bet you anything she's still stuck down in there," answered Keiichi.

Satoko covered her mouth that was gaped open with one hand. "Oh crap! I didn't mean to make it _that _deep!" the yellow-haired girl cried out in alarm. She then pulled out a long, brown rope from seemingly nowhere and ran off into the woods, calling Shion's name.

Keiichi chuckled a little. "Wow, for once she messed up on her trap. Though it ended up working a little better, huh?" he commented.

Rika nodded. "Mii, Satoko always makes sure that her traps are perfect. I really doubt that making the pitfall that deep was an accident," she responded, glancing off into the woods. Satoko had now disappeared from the two club member's sight, though her continuous calls for Shion could still be heard faintly.

"Oh yeah. I bet you anything that she made them deep on purpose so that I wouldn't be able to get out of them. Too bad for her, then. I actually fell in one of those pitfalls but I managed to climb my way out of it," Keiichi spoke.

"Satoko may act a little mean to you, Keiichi, but she's really just trying to have fun. So don't ever get mad at her for teasing you like that. I never mean it either," the blue-haired girl said, staring up at the boy who was much, much taller than her.

"Oh, I know," he spoke. "Especially you, Rika-chan. You're such a good girl, you know that?" he praised her. Keiichi reached one of his dirty hands out to pat her mud-stained hair, ruffling her many blue strands.

Rika frowned. "I'm not as good of a girl as you think, Keiichi," she said, her tone slightly darkened.

Keiichi titled his head to the side, confused. "What are you talking about, Rika-chan? Of course you're a good girl," he told her.

"I was just playing a joke, Nipah~!" Rika beamed.

And with that, the conversation died. The two of them stood there in almost complete silence. Satoko's cry for the green-haired girl had long faded away and was replaced by the loud cries of the higurashi cicadas. Keiichi had been thinking of what to say, but found nothing. He often found silence like this slightly awkward.

"…Mion's been acting weird," Rika suddenly spoke, surprising the brown-haired boy.

"Oh, yeah. She was staring at nothing all class today. I wonder what's gotten into her," Keiichi said, scratching the back of his head. He had been surprised that day when Mion hadn't even asked him once for his help with a math assignment or any other kind of homework that Chie had given her. She would pester him about such matters at least once every school day.

The young girl had clear worry in her purple eyes at the topic of their green-haired club leader. It was true. Mion had not been herself recently. He could barely even remember the last time that they had club activities together. "Maybe her family is putting a lot of pressure on her because she's the heiress. I hear the Sonozaki Family has a lot of power. It must be tough for the heiress," guessed Keiichi.

"That can't be it!" cried Rika. "Something is wrong. Something is _terribly_ wrong with her!" she yelled, her voice shaken by intense amounts of worry.

Keiichi was surprised by how strongly Rika reacted to his answer. She was clearly worried. At the same time, however, it seemed to the brown-haired girl that she was almost _afraid_ of something. "Calm down, Rika. I'm sure it's nothing too big. We all go through stages in life like that. Take me, for example. I had that stage of life where I shot those girls with the toy gun. And yet, I'm not that kind of person, am I?" he explained to her. "So Mion's just going through a phase right now. All we need to do is stick by her side and she'll grow back to her normal self in no time!"

Rika's eyes narrowed with frustration. Why didn't he understand? "No, it's not like that. I really think something's up with her!" she replied.

One of Keiichi's brown eyebrows raised itself. "Well, I guess I could talk to her if you're really that concerned about her. I'm pretty sure that it's just a phase though. Not that I myself am not worried about her. If the Sonozaki family really is stressing her out, then I want to help her. Well, not even that. I want to help her with whatever is causing her to act this way. Perhaps it's because I haven't been helping her out with school work as much as I used to and it's causing her to get stressed," he suggested.

Rika glanced away, her teeth clenched together tightly as she balled up her fists. _He doesn't get it, _she thought to herself.

~~~~X~~~~

As soon as Satoko had successfully helped Shion out of the deep pitfall trap she had set, Rika had left the area and gone straight to the Saiguden. She was now sitting down on the old but clean wooden flooring with a sharpened pencil in her hand. She had quite a bit to write down today. Even if it didn't have to do with anything, Rika had decided on recording absolutely everything that had happened each day of her life. She stood up and walked over to the box containing the many books of Onifaguchi and Hinamizawa, then crouching down.

After pulling out the book she had been writing in, Rika sat herself back down on the floor of the tool shrine. She flipped the pages of the book until she reached the page where she had left off.

_Today, Satoko decided to give us what she calls a trap trial. Satoko is a master at making traps and all other kinds of nasty pranks. She was testing out some new ones, I think. Either that or she was trying to improve her skills at making advanced traps. It's always good for her to practice her traps and learn how to make more advanced ones. I am, in fact, very glad that she did that. Perhaps the traps will come in handy later on in the year or perhaps even shortly. I'm not sure if we're going to need to use traps, though. Some of her traps could be rather fatal. She actually sent a heavy boulder flying straight at Keiichi's head! I can only imagine what could happen if that boulder had hit him. Probably wouldn't be very good. Luckily, Keiichi was able to duck down at the last second. In fact, he ended up wining the whole thing after he left me in some mud and Shion in a pitfall trap. I think that was kind of rude of him. I still need to take a bath._

_ I talked to Keiichi after the whole trap trial was over. Satoko had gone to rescue Shion at the time, so both of them weren't present. I asked him if he thought Mion had been acting strangely. He told me that he had thought she had been acting strangely. I can't remember the last time we had a nice, peaceful club activity. I think we played Go Fish or something. In any case, Keiichi told me that he thought Mion was just going through a phase. He told me she would grow out of it. Is he right? Is that really it? Am I really just overreacting about the whole situation? _

_ No, it can't be. I saw her eyes glow for goodness sake! I don't think that you see a girl's eyes glow on a daily basis. Actually, I certainly don't think that most people have seen a girl's eyes glow before at all. This is definitely a sign that something bad is going to happen. I don't know what, though. Hanyuu told me that she doesn't have a clue, either. I don't know if any other kids in the class observed Mion's eyes glow a sickly green. Well, I'm pretty sure they didn't. That would have caused a huge freak out among the class. Perhaps I should just tell someone else about what I saw. But would they really believe me? In fact, person who may have stumbled upon this book, do you believe my tale? Answer honestly. _

_ Not much longer until the Watanagashi. I'm worried for what is to come. They have taken a break from setting it up for now. They've done more than enough already, after all._

_ -RIKA FURUDE, JUNE 1984._

Rika sighed as she finished writing up the last details. She needed to make sure she included every last thing. If she were to die, then she'd want everyone to know of who she was and what she had experienced in life. Of course, her tale was quite unbelievable and would take a whole lot of convincing. She had written that note at the start, however. If they didn't believe, so be it. She knew it was true, and that was good enough for her.

"Hanyuu, what did you think of what Keiichi said earlier this afternoon?" asked Rika as she set the book back in the box and sealed it up.

The goddess had seated herself on a small bench located below an array of sharp knives on the wall and was watching Rika's every move. "Well, I guess that Keiichi is wrong since we saw Mion's eyes glow. I mean, I haven't seen that before and I'm Oyashiro-sama!" cried Hanyuu.

"Keiichi won't be of much help, then," murmured Rika, sitting back down on the floor with her shoulders slumped defeatedly.

Hanyuu began to tap her feet on the wooden floor nervously. "Au au! Rika, you mustn't think like that! Having everyone work together and calling upon the power of friendship is the key to beating fate! If you just cut poor Keiichi out like that, then you certainly have no chance of defeating fate! Keiichi was the one who taught us that it was possible to defeat fate in the first place, don't you remember?" she reminded the blue-haired girl.

Rika ignored the purple-haired girl. She herself wasn't sure what to do. She wasn't sure if she could take another 1983. But then again, was this even another 1983 or did fate have something completely different in store for her? Maybe it would be something much, much different from anything she had ever seen before. No matter what it was, Rika wasn't feeling any confidence in herself. _Perhaps this is truly my end, _she thought to herself.

~~~~X~~~~

"They're coming for Keiichi. They're out for him…"

Whispers of the Green-Eyed Demon echoed in Mion's ear without end. The whispering just wouldn't cease, even at the most inconvenient times. It would follow her everywhere closely and absolutely refused to disappear. Mion would often lie awake in her futon and stare into the hideous mask of the Green-Eyed Demon. How could she possibly fall asleep with that _thing_ watching her and whispering bad thoughts in her ear every single second of the day? She had even hidden herself back inside one of the guest rooms and had told Shion that she needed a little time alone that night so she didn't start getting suspicious.

The lack of sleep was beginning to show, as she would often find herself spacing out in the middle of class or nearly falling asleep on her math work. Shion would usually give her a quick nudge to the stomach every time she noticed her sister beginning to fall into a nap during class. Though Shion's nudges did not ever scare away the Green-Eyed Demon.

"They're both out to steal Keiichi for themselves. They think they're better for them, but we know better, don't we? You are the one who is fit for him. You've got to take him for your own," the Green-Eyed Demon spoke as it gazed upon the green-haired girl's wide-awake eyes. She did not plan to get any sleep that night. The girl had just barely managed to fall asleep the last night. She wasn't even sure how she did it. Now, she was dying to know.

Although Mion knew it was hopeless, she decided to try to get the Green-Eyed Demon to disappear once again. Perhaps it would really work this time. It was worth a shot, wasn't it? _Would you please go away? I'm trying to sleep right now. I'll think more about how they're stealing Kei-chan and all those crappy lies tomorrow._

The whispering stopped. "Oho, crappy lies? I do not think they are crappy lies. I'm only telling you the truth," the Green-Eyed Demon spoke.

_I know the truth. Whatever you're telling me is a complete and utter lie, _replied Mion.

"But that's not true, Mion. I've only been trying to help you. And yet, you've been shooting down my oh so kind offers to help you. Why is that?" the Green-Eyed Demon asked the girl.

Mion felt like spitting in the Green-Eyed Demon's face. Would it stop asking such pointless questions already? _Okay, I'm pretty sure you're not here to help me. Demons are evil beings. That means that they do evil stuff. I bet you're just trying to do something evil to me. I refuse to believe in what a demon tells me. _

The Green-Eyed Demon chuckled. "Is that so?" it sneered.

_Yes, that is so. Now would you let me get some sleep? I want to finish up some math pages tomorrow or else Chie-sensei is going to kill me. You saw how she is…_

It shook its head directly after Mion had finished speaking to it, as if it refused to leave no matter what she said. "I'm sorry, Mion. I'm afraid I can't do that," it responded in its voice, disgusting to listen to.

_Why not?_ Mion asked the Green-Eyed Demon.

"Isn't that obvious? For such a long time now, I've been trying to get my point across. I've told you at least a thousand times that I'm not your enemy. I may be a demon, but that doesn't mean I can't help you," it replied, still staring down at Mion's face. At that moment, Mion wondered if the Green-Eyed Demon could actually see through the thick mask it wore on its face. There were no holes to see through and Mion could not even get a glimpse at any of its facial features. Not only that, but pretty much everything about it was concealed. The hood it wore over its head hid its hair and the many robes it wore on its body prevented its figure from being seen.

_What if I don't want your help?_ Mion challenged the Green-Eyed Demon. From now on, she decided, she wouldn't take any of its threats. She was strong enough to stand up to a demon. She was Mion Sonozaki, after all.

"Oh, now aren't you getting a little bit comfortable around me?" observed the Green-Eyed Demon, placing a balled fist on its chin so it could rest its head. "I thought you were supposed to be scared of me."

'_Hell no! I won't be scared of you, if that's what you're trying to make me!' _snapped Mion. Sure, the Green-Eyed Demon had scared her quite a bit before. Yet now, she felt as if she could stand up to it.

A sigh could be heard from under the mask. "You just don't get it, do you? I'm not here to scare you. I said I'm here to-" the Green-Eyed Demon began to speak.

_Help, yeah right,_ finished Mion.

A moment of silence followed. This was something that was getting very, very rare for Mion. Even if no human were talking, the Green-Eyed Demon would constantly be whispering bad thoughts and evil ideas into her ear. It seemed as if she had completely forgotten what silence was.

"…Hey, did you see that Etsuko girl today? She was acting a little clingy, don't you think? She wouldn't stop talking to Keiichi," the Green-Eyed Demon finally spoke, breaking the silence. It was like the Green-Eyed demon was purposely trying to prevent Mion from ever hearing a moment of silence ever again. When Mion tried to shut down one subject, then the Green-Eyed Demon would switch to whispering about another subject. "Envious, are you, eh?"

Mion felt as if she was going to explode of anger at any minute. _Okay! Listen now! I know exactly what I'm doing, so don't tell me what to do! I don't believe in you coming here to help me, I don't believe in being envious, and I don't believe in Rena and Etsuko stealing Keiichi away! Now that's the end of it! You're just lying, so shut up and go away for all eternity!_

A muffled sigh came out of the Green-Eyed Demon's mouth from behind its twisted mask. "Well, I suppose I have no choice now, do I?" it spoke.

For a moment, Mion believed that the Green-Eyed Demon had finally given in to her begging for it to go away and never come back, but that was instantly shattered. The Green-Eyed Demon took a few steps around the room so that it was in front of Mion's futon. It turned to face her, mask staring directly at her face. "I didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice," it spoke again. "Now watch me carefully. I don't want you to miss a single second of what I'm about to do!" it ordered.

Mion gave the Green-Eyed Demon a look of confusion. What was it going to do?

The Green-Eyed Demon reached up a glove-covered hand to its mask and gently placed its fingers on it. Slowly, it began to pull the demonic mask away from its previously hidden face. "Thank god, I hated that mask," the Green-Eyed Demon spoke as it began to tear the mask away. Except this time, its voice was different. It was no longer distorted. Mion instantly froze to the futon as if a blizzard had burst into the room. She knew that voice all too well.

Finally, it threw the entire mask to the ground and it shattered into a billion different fragments. On its face was a pair of emerald green eyes that almost seemed to glow in the night. Mion couldn't breath. Those eyes… they couldn't be…

The Green-Eyed Demon smirked when it saw Mion's horrified reaction. "Don't understand fully, yet? Okay, let me finish up," the Green-Eyed Demon spoke in it's new, familiar voice. It drew its hands up to its hood and pulled it from its head. When the hood was gone, it shook its head to fix up its hair. Its hair was a brilliant shade of green, similar to its eye color. In addition to that, it wore its hair in a long ponytail that reached down to its waist.

"It… can't be…" was all Mion could say at the sight before her.

The Green-Eyed Demon cackled, this time even more maniacal than ever before. "Oh yes, it's true! Don't you dare deny it!" it roared with laughter.

Mion backed herself up against the wall. Whatever courage she had was now lost forever. She felt as if she couldn't even breathe anymore. Something like this was…

The Green-Eyed Demon finally managed to control its laughter, taking deep breaths. It took a few seconds for its breathing to return to normal, though it was still slumped over a little with the fatigue of laughing so hysterically. Then, in it's feminine yet rowdy tone; it spoke. "My name is Sonozaki Mion, the Green-Eyed Demon. It's a pleasure to meet you, self!"

~~~~X~~~~

**Crimso's Corner**

**Finally! I get to the part I've been DYING to write for ages. Actually, I've been dying to write it ever since I first came up with this fanfiction. I mean, the demon that has been stalking you all this time takes off its mask and reveals itself to be… yourself! How cool is that? Of course, I wouldn't want that happening to myself. As my health teacher says, "I'm interested in what happens after death, but I don't actually want to die and see for myself." Hehe. Be glad I decided to write up another plot twist right after another one just happened. I wasn't planning to write this for three chapters. Though I figured that if it didn't happen before those three chapters, the surprise might be too obvious. Speaking of which, what did you think of this plot twist? You like? Surprised? Did you see it coming?**

**By the way, I've been failing at school recently. Updates may be slowed.**

**Hehe. The beginning was mainly because 1. I didn't know what to put there. 2. When was the last time Satoko did something in this fanfic? I realized she's been sitting there doing nothing for like… a lot of chapters. The last time she did something was in Envy (chap. 13), I think. When she dressed up as a maid. She pulled like, one prank in A Gift For You (Chap... uh. Something) and that's it. So I added that in for some Satoko love~~. Training is always nice for fanfics, too. You can't improve out of nowhere, now can you? Also, Keiichi needed to win something. I feel bad for the poor guy. I made him dress up as Mion and lose pretty much everything.**

**Next chapter is super short. The chapter after the next chapter will be super long. Like, super long. Actually, don't quote me on that. I plain for that to happen but things might just change. **

**Please, please, PLEASE leave a review! I love reading reviews so much you don't even know. Reviews are like cookies to me ;3;. And I love cookies to death. I'll give you a free ticket to Crimso Land. Which is a pretty awesome place, by the way. And a free buffet ticket to any buffet.  
And I'm OUT!**

**~Crimso**


	20. Chapter 19: Truth

**Hey there all my readers! Thanks for all the reviews! Seriously, I'm astounded! Keep it up! I love reading them so much. Right now I'm with my friend. She and my little sister decided to go watch a movie that I really, really, really don't want to watch. So I brought my laptop over to the place where the TV is and decided to work on this super, super short chapter, simply because it's so short and should take me a few minutes. Maybe an hour or so. Still, I find it hard to right when there's sounds around. Really, really loud sounds. I can't work when people are talking! I'm actually kind of half listening and half writing, but...**

**WARNING: SUPER, SUPER SHORT CHAPTER AHEAD. AND WHEN I SAY SUPER, SUPER SHORT, I MEAN SUPER, SUPER, SUPER, SUPER, _SUPER_ SHORT.**

~~~~X~~~~

Mion's body was smashed into the wall, shaking violently as she stared at the demon in front of her. The Green-Eyed demon was smiling at her fear, clearly taking pleasure in it. She opened her mouth ever so slightly to reveal a set of sharp, demonic fangs where her top two canine teeth would be. "What's wrong, self? Why are you so scared of yourself? I've never seen someone so scared of themselves before~" taunted the Green-Eyed Demon, chuckling a little bit at the green-haired girl.

"Y-You can't be…" rasped Mion, her voice as shaky as her body. "It's c-completely impossible. I-Impossible…"

The Green-Eyed Demon titled her head to the side. "What do you mean by impossible? I'm right in front of you now, aren't I? You're looking directly at my face now," she asked herself, though she did not sound curious in the slightest. It was almost as if she was trying to taunt the tomboy with every word that she spoke. "I don't want to deal with you denying it. I already have had enough trouble with you denying what I've been saying to you all the time," it spoke once again in her voice, exactly like Mion's.

Mion clenched her fists. She couldn't be scared of the Green-Eyed Demon now. She wasn't a few seconds ago, so why now? She was just surprised by the fact that the Green-Eyed Demon shared her face and claimed to be her. Why would she be scared of something that had her face? If the Green-Eyed Demon was really her like she claimed to be, why should she be scared of her? "No, you're not me," growled Mion, gaining bravery. "You can't be me. I know myself. I'm not a demon."

The Green-Eyed Demon was clearly irritated with the girl's behavior. "Yes you are, self. You are a demon. It's just another thing that you refuse to believe, just like how you are envious and how you deny the fact that that Etsuko girl and that Rena girl are out to take Keiichi for themselves," it spoke to her, a slight growl in her voice as she showed the length of her fangs.

"I am not a demon!" Mion roared at the Green-Eyed Demon.

The Green-Eyed Demon looked surprised at the girl's resistance for a split second, but quickly regained her cool composure. "Are you trying to resist me? I don't like it when you try to deny what I'm saying. It really… irritates me," she said, picking at her nails through her gloves. "We're quite rebellious at times," the Green-Eyed Demon spoke, before lifting one eye to look at the green-haired girl. "…Aren't we?"

Anger was slowly growing in Mion at the Green-Eyed Demon's tone of voice and her words. "Stop speaking as if we're the same person!" snapped the tomboy. "Because we're not! I'm not you and you're not me! You are not Sonozaki Mion and I am not the Green-Eyed Demon!"

Yet, the Green-Eyed Demon only burst out into a fit of laughter after hearing the girl's words of rebellion. She held her chest, still covered in many layers of fabric. Mion watched her with wide eyes, confused by her reaction. "Oh, you silly fool! How do you think I knew about your envy in the first place? Why is it that only _you_ can see me? Why is it that I can read your mind? It's because I am you! Do you think there's any other way that could be possible?" yelled out the Green-Eyed Demon, throwing her hands up in her air in a fit of madness. She let out another evil laugh to cure her sudden psychosis. "Listen, I'll tell you everything now. So why don't you listen up?"

Mion blinked at the demon that claimed to be herself in confusion. "What do you mean?"

A hiss sounded out from the Green-Eyed Demon. "Shush! Just listen now and be quiet!" she ordered herself. Mion did as the demon told her to for the lack of knowing what else to do. "I am indeed you, as I said before. However, I am not you in the sense that you would initially believe," she began to explain, pacing back and forth around the room. "I am the personification of all that you refuse to admit. I am the personification of your envy, your anger, and all that you have forgotten. I am the personification of all you refuse to admit. Including the fact that you are a demon," she told the girl who was still backed up against the wall. She did not meet the identical green eyes of the girl at all until she finished speaking, giving her a menacing look.

"I already asked you this before, but I will ask you this once again. Have you ever heard of the tale of Sonozaki Ayame?" the demon asked her, looking at her sternly. The look of confusion that appeared Mion's face was enough of an answer for the Green-Eyed Demon. "Oh, so I suppose that's a no? Well the tale of Sonozaki Ayame is a good one. It was one once famous among the people of Onifaguchi. Unfortunately, the tale has been long forgotten about among the people now. When Onifaguchi became Hinamizawa slightly less than a hundred years ago, the tale was forever forgotten. I told you before that I was the personification of everything you forgot, yes? You one heard of this tale but forgot about it. As such, I know the tale," she spoke.

"What the hell are you talking about?" asked Mion, slightly angered.

The Green-Eyed Demon peeled off the top robe she was wearing, finding the need to wear so many layers unnecessary as her identity had been revealed. "I'm going to tell you the tale of Sonozaki Ayame, so listen to me carefully…"

~~~~X~~~~

Furude Rika wandered down the pathways of Hinamizawa for the lack of anything better to do. It was nearly sunset. That day, Mion had failed to show up to school. She had planed to go and write down whatever information in the Saiguden later on, but felt like talking a small stroll around the village right now. Even though she had walked the dusty paths of Hinamizawa countless numbers of times, she felt it was nice to walk down and observe the village every once in a while. Hinamizawa, while having dark secrets, was actually quite the beautiful village. The constant cries of the higurashi cicadas were actually very calming rather than annoying.

Of course, that didn't mean the cries of the higurashi cicadas could be annoying. At this time, Rika was being reminded of hearing the cries every day of June 1983 now that she felt as if she was in a similar situation. Now, the cries of the higurashi cicadas seemed sickening.

"Furude-san!" a young male voice cried out from behind her. Confused, Rika whipped around to meet the source of the voice.

Akasaka Katashi was running down the dusty path to meet her, nearly out of breath when he finally stopped in front of her. He panted and wiped some sweat from off of his forehead. "I came to Hinamizawa from Okinomiya and ran all over the place for an hour just so that I could see you!" he spoke, smiling,

Rika raised an eyebrow. "Wait, what?"

Katashi stood up straight, brushing off his pants. "I remembered the book that pink-haired girl with the two pigtails was reading!" he informed the girl.

Surprise and joy grew inside Rika. If Katashi had figured out the book she had been reading, could it be possible that she could get a hint as to what was going to happen to Mion? Even if it wasn't related that much, anything was good. She was desperate for some kind of hint. "It was book number seventeen! I'm not sure of the title, though. Oh, and book number eight," he explained excitedly.

Now, she knew exactly what she had to do. If she went to read those books, she could possibly find a hint of some kind. Not only that, but she needed to go to the Saiguden to write down some information on what had happened that day, anyways. It was very lucky that Katashi had shown up just then at the moment where she had nothing to do. "Thank you!" cried Rika, hugging the boy tightly out of pure joy. "I might be able to find something out now! Thank you so, so much!" she continued.

Katashi was quite confused. Why would someone need to know about what book the person had been reading? If he were her, he was sure he'd be more concerned about the identity of the person who had broken in. Nevertheless, he smiled at her. "You're welcome," he said.

~~~~X~~~~

Rika burst into the Saiguden excitedly. Would she perhaps find a hint in the books that Katashi had told her about? Even if she didn't, it was worth a shot. After all, it might be hard to even find the hint. She didn't even know the first thing that was going to happen. The only clue she had was the glowing green eyes during that time in the classroom. She ran over to the small box in the corner, almost unnoticeable under the vast array of torture tools. She muttered the names of the books as she threw various books all over the floor, desperate to find what Katashi had told her.

Hanyuu ducked out of the way as a book came flying towards her head. "Rika, be more careful, please! These are ancient books! We need to make sure that they're in top condition, no matter what!" begged Hanyuu. She was clearly worried that with the way Rika was treating the books that one of them would fall apart. She couldn't have that happening. After all, they were the only records of Onifaguchi that still remained. They were sacred to all of Hinamizawa, even if most of the villagers knew nothing about their existence.

"Found it!" cried Rika as she held up the book with the number seventeen written on it. Before she looked at the full title, however, Rika pulled out the book that lacked a cover and opened to the page she had left off at.

_Today, not much happened. Mion didn't come to school at all. I wonder where she is? Perhaps I will later pay a visit to the Sonozaki Manor and ask her Grandmother. Shion told me that she was feeling sick that morning and had requested to stay home. I know for a fact that's probably not the case. Of course, we didn't have club activities. I am beginning to miss those. They were my only happiness for thousands of years. And now, that happiness is once again beginning to slip from me. I feel terrible about it. Why must this happen again? I thought I had left behind those days of despair and violence. Now, it's all coming back to me. _

_ In any case, Katashi told me he remembered the books that Etsuko had been looking at when she invaded the shrine (At least, I think it's Etsuko judging by the description he gave me. Who else has pink hair tied in pigtails besides her?) It's number seventeen and number eight. I will now be taking a look at both of them. I hope I can find a hint, even if it's just a small one. A small hint might just be all I need to defeat this fate. _

Rika set the pen down, but did not close the book or sign her name. She had more writing to do later once she finished the book. That was something that definitely needed to be written down.

"Sonozaki… Ayame?" Rika read the title out loud with confusion. "Hanyuu, isn't that the girl who made a deal with a demon for power?" she asked the goddess.

Hanyuu nodded. "Yeah, that's it. I don't really remember it very well, though. Can I have a look at the book? Perhaps I will remember something," she requested, still bent over slightly with her hands still covering her head. Rika nodded her head and handed off the old book to the purple-haired girl. Hanyuu returned to upright position and began to flip through the slightly torn pages of the ancient book, skimming each one. "Oh! I remember this story completely now!" cried out Hanyuu, slamming the book shut with both of her hands.

"Well? Does it have anything to do with Mion?" asked Rika. She felt like she'd die if she didn't get a hint anytime soon. The need to find a hint was becoming like the need to sleep or eat to her.

Hanyuu smiled. "It does, a little," she replied. The goddess then turned around and sat down on the small wooden bench positioned under many sharp knives. She placed the old book down in her lap, a smile upon her face. "Rika please let me tell you the tale of Sonozaki Ayame. We might find something in it. And please… let me tell you everything instead of you reading the book."

Slightly confused, Rika titled her head. "Wait, why?"

"Because I like this tail a whole lot. It reminds me a lot of my own story. I believe I have told you most of my tale already, yes?" answered Hanyuu, smiling.

"Y-Yeah. Your daughter killed you Watanagashi style upon your request," Rika recalled. Hanyuu had told her of this gruesome tale in what appeared to be another Hinamizawa. She had lied and said that the whole thing was just a dream, but Rika knew better. The story that Hanyuu had told her had certainly been true and was definitely her own.  
She nodded. "Yeah, that's right. So I want you to listen to this tale," the goddess said. She then pushed the book gently to her side, giving it a small glance before returning to looking at the curious blue-haired girl that had taken a seat in front of her. "Now listen closely, Rika. I'll tell you all about the tale of Sonozaki Ayame…"

~~~~X~~~~

**Crimso's Corner**

**Don't tell me I didn't warn you. This is officially the shortest chapter yet discounting the prologue. I mean, it's only 2,000 words! What the heck. I feel so terrible for submitting a chapter with _2,000 _words. That's like, tiny. I'm adding random stuff here just to make it seem longer ;3;. This is another transition chapter, by the way. You can probably guess what comes next by the content of this chapter. The next chapter should be a long one. I might, however, cut the next part into three chapters instead of the originally planed two. In that chase, it might be a little short. I'm sorry for all the short chapters I have been writing up. Chapters will probably be a little shorter from now on. There use to be so much to stuff in one chapter and now I'm trying to split up events between chapters.**

**I wanted to write this really quickly so we can move on to the next chapter. I've been waiting to write that next chapter for ages, too. It should be rather fun~. And then after all that's over... we get to the part which makes this a horror fanfiction. Hehe. I can't wait to get to writing that, either. No seriously, writing scenes like the scene where the Green-Eyed Demon took off her mask is really fun for me to write. So whatever is coming up will be fun for me to write, too. I think**

**Please review as usual! I love your reviews so much. I've said that a billion times, I know, but it's true. If you review... you get a free ticket to the Crimso Park in Crimso Land! It has free ice cream. And cookies if you don't like ice cream. And if you don't like cookies... then you can have whatever you DO like. So please review, even if it's a short chapter. I apologize. Serious, I mean it. *gets down on knees* I am sorry! I will make up for it, somehow! Mark my words!**

**~Your favorite (and the only) Crimso**

**P.S: Should I get rid of the bold font for Crimso's Corner?**


	21. Chapter 20: Book Seventeen I

**Yo! I feel really sick for some strange reason. I've wanted to get sick for a while now so that I can miss school (I haven't missed a day of school this year. No joke.) but why does it have to be on the weekend? If I really am sick, that means I don't get to skip school. I don't think I am sick, though. I'm feeling a little better with the passing minutes. I just feel a little hot. In any case, today was pretty awesome. I ate a banana split (YUM~) and saw a movie with my friend. Then, we ate a hamburger. Ever since that hamburger I've been feeling sick. I know that hamburger place well so it can't be the food… can it? Ugh. **

**Well, that's enough of my blabbering. Let's get down to what I've been wanting to say. I'm shocked with the number of reviews I've been getting recently! So once again, I want to thank Devi, triple baka, Kingofstories01, xxEmmaliesxx, unknown137, and everyone else! A special thanks again to The Minister of Silly walks who is also a great writer. Go check out his fanfic and leave him a review, by the way. It's much better than mine :P.**

**AYAME TIME! Get ready, set, go!**

**WARNING: A little bit of violence in the first part of the story and near the end. This is Higurashi, so you should be able to deal with it. If you can't, then you can skip the part. It's not too bad, really. Just wanted to say for people who don't like reading about violence. **

~~~~X~~~~

**MANY, MANY, MANY YEARS AGO… (We're talking hundreds):**

The small village called Onifaguchi was actually quite the peaceful place at times. Villagers would spend their days crowing their crops and in their houses, worshiping the god named Oyashiro-sama. The only thing they really had to fear was the local Watanagashi festival that took place every year. Well, that was until two months ago, anyways. Now, the villagers were almost always on alert. A bunch of men in their middle ages were gathered on top of a lookout area that was located just in the middle of Onifaguchi. From there, they could see everything in their village. All of the villagers that lived in Onifaguchi were counting on them to yell out a certain signal so that they could hide in their homes. A signal that went like:

"SHE HAS RETURNED ONCE AGAIN!" screamed out a man with coarse blonde hair. "EVERYONE, GET TO YOUR HOUSES! READY THE WEAPONS!"

With that single sign, all the villagers that had been working on growing their crops instantly dropped their tools and ran screaming into their houses. Mothers grabbed their children and hid them in the safest places they could possibly find while they protested. The young children didn't quite understand what danger they were in. The men at the top of the lookout area drew out weapons of many kinds. Some of them wielded bows and arrows while others held knives. Some, however, did not need a weapon, as their skills in material arts were good enough for them.

"Move out!" cried the same man. When he did so, all of the men jumped from the lookout and landed safety on their feet to the ground. They dashed forward, some clutching their weapons tightly. Beads of sweet trickled down some of their foreheads in fear of what was to come for them.

The blonde man halted, and so did the group of men. In front of them stood a beautiful woman with long, blonde hair and icy blue eyes. She wore a white kimono that flowed slightly in the wind. However, looks could be deceiving. This woman was the whole reason why the village of Onifaguchi was in a state of unrest.

"Madoka! Why have you returned?" the man at the front of the group demanded, holding up his sharp knife threateningly.

A chuckle sounded out. "Oh, you fool. Why do you think I've returned? I'm hungry and there are no close villages besides this one. A demon has to eat when she is hungry," spoke the demon woman named Madoka. She smiled a little, showing off her sharp fangs. "It looks like you've formed quite the group here, hm?" she observed.

"Of course!" snapped a man, his hair slightly grayed. "Are you kidding me? You killed my son and ate him a week ago! We're all here for revenge!"

Madoka raised an eyebrow, not the least bit intimidated. "Oh? That boy was your son? He put up quite the fight before I managed to tear his heart out," she spoke, smirking. "He tasted rather foul, so it wasn't worth it. Oh well, what's done is done, right?" she taunted the group. Madoka was a very sadistic demon that took great amounts of pleasure in killing humans in the most gruesome and thrilling ways she could think of. She mostly did it for the pride of killing great amounts of humans rather than because she wanted to eat them. She also found it rather fun to tease humans and anger them purposely. She knew that she was superior to them in strength.

The man with the grayed hair couldn't take it any longer. He drew out his sharp knife and charged towards the demon, pointing the blade directly at it. Madoka smirked and watched the human's enraged actions, finding it unthreatening. Just before the sharp blade of the human's knife hit her directly in the heart, she grabbed it with her hand. The blade cut into the skin of her hand, causing crimson blood to trickle down the blade and drip on the floor. "Pathetic," spoke Madoka, not feeling pain from the blade digging into her skin. She pried the knife out of the man's hand with ease and tossed it behind her back carelessly. She did not waste a single second afterwards. With great speed, she grasped on to the man's neck and applied her inhuman strength to it. The man let out cries of pain, which were muffled by the hands around his neck. In seconds, a snap was heard and the man fell to the floor with a hollow thud, dead.

"Who's next?" asked Madoka, licking the blood off her hands while staring at the group of men challengingly.

All the men were frightened. They had just seen another comrade die in front of their eyes in a matter of seconds. How could they beat a demon like her? She was just too strong for all of them.

The blonde-haired man leading the group gulped. He had to be brave. Drawing his knife, he threw it at the demon in front of him. It cut through the air with its point aimed directly at the demon's heart. Madoka let out a sigh before suddenly leaping out of the way of the knife. She landed on top of the blonde-haired man and sat down on his stomach. Sitting up, she positioned her sharp claws on the man's chest. She began to laugh madly as she ran her claws down the man's chest, cutting it open. She kept tearing and tearing at it until the skin had been completely ripped off. After that, she scooted herself backwards so that she was now seated on the man's long legs. She then snatched up the knife that had landed in the dirt and stuck it inside the blonde-haired man's stomach. The knife was torn through the man's stomach until it ripped right open down the middle. She smiled evilly as she lifted up his shirt just enough so that his ripped stomach was exposed. The men around them took a step back and covered their mouths to prevent themselves from throwing up as Madoka stuck her hand in the opening and began to tear out his organs in clumps.

"Killing people is so much fun!" cried Madoka through her laughter as she held a bundle of guts in her hand, allowing some to slip through the gaps between fingers.

The men around her could no longer take the horrid sight before them and ran away screaming. Some of them could no longer resist the urge to throw up and did so as they attempted to flee from the psychotic demon in front of them.

Madoka stopped laughing when she noticed that everyone had left. "Aw… couldn't take the sight of a little bit of internal organs? Too bad," she spoke. Madoka tossed the organs she was holding aside and removed the knife before she plunged into the man's heart, finishing him off. She sighed, now bored. "Man, it's too bad I only killed two today. Next time, they won't be so lucky," she muttered. Bored, she threw the knife away and got off the now dead man. She didn't even give the dead bodies another look before she scampered off back into the thick forest.

~~~~X~~~~

The many villagers watched in fear as a group of men came back carrying the dead bodies of the two men that had been killed by Madoka earlier that day. Parents covered their children's eyes, not wanting them to take a look at the horribly mutilated corpses.

Among the villagers was a young woman with long, green hair and light green eyes. She was about twenty years old. She sported a black kimono with some white patterns decorating the soft fabric. She didn't look the least bit surprised at the state the corpses were in. She had seen Madoka do much, much worse. This was hardly gruesome compared to some other deaths that she had inflicted on the villagers.

"Father, there are only two corpses this time," she spoke to the man standing next to her.

"Yeah. It looks like the other hunters were able to flee in time," commented her father.

The men carrying the corpses carried them out of sight. They were to be tossed in a pile containing other dead corpses. There were just too many for them to bury properly. Instead, the villagers had decided that they'd keep a pile of corpses to avoid having to bury so many bodies.

"How many does that make?" asked the girl.

Her father shook her head. "I don't know, Ayame. It's got to be at least fifty by now. Maybe sixty," he answered.

The crowd began to disappear, some having run away at the sight of the two corpses and some having left after the corpses were unable to be seen. This was the only memorial they ever gave the dead. Once again, there wasn't enough time to give each and every one of them a funeral. The villagers would always line up whenever new corpses were brought in and they'd watch as the other men that had been pursuing the demon carried the corpses to the pile. That was if any of the hunters even made it out alive in the first place.

"We can't go on like this forever!" the man yelled out to the remaining villagers. "We need to kill this demon once and for all!"

A laugh sounded out from one of the people standing across from him. "Seriously? I don't think you've been doing anything about it, Sonozaki Takeshi-sama," spoke a young man with dull yellow hair. He wore a smirk on his face, clearly trying to provoke the man named Sonozaki Takeshi.

"Kimiyoshi Toshi," growled Takeshi, staring straight at the man across from him.

Toshi approached Takeshi and the girl standing next to him, not once wiping away his taunting expression. "Hello there, Takeshi," he spoke hostilely. "And hello to you, Sonozaki Ayame-chan," he added on, looking down at the scowling green-haired girl in front of him.

"Kimiyoshi Toshi, what do you want from us?" asked the girl named Sonozaki Ayame in an unfriendly manner. She instantly sensed an unpleasant atmosphere growing around the three of them. As the head of the village, Toshi took great pride in himself and his status and always made sure that the other villagers knew their place as subordinate members of Onifaguchi.

"Oh my, you certainly look a little upset to see me. I wonder why~?" he taunted, still smirking. In truth, he already knew the answer to that question. He hated the Sonozaki Family and always attempted to poke fun of them in any way he could possibly think of. Right now, he was having fun getting them all worked up and annoyed at him. He found it extremely entertaining to do so.

Takeshi clenched his fist and resisted the urge to punch the village leader in the face. "…Would you kindly leave us alone?" he requested.

"Oh? But I was only commented on the fact that you've never done anything to try to drive that Madoka demon out of the village. You were speaking about how the demon needed to go away, weren't you?" he replied.

Ayame felt rage grow up inside of her. How dare the village leader talk like that to her father? "Excuse me, Toshi-san. I believe you haven't done anything to stop the demon besides force unwillingly men to go attack her and setting up that nasty corpse pile system," snapped Ayame, defending her father and her family. As the person with the most power in the village, Toshi had forced various men to go and kill the demon against their will. Some of them, however, did go off and fight the demon upon their own will. Sometimes, they would come to avenge their children or their lost spouse. Of course, no one had ever succeeded.

"Mind your manners, Sonozaki girl! It's Toshi-_sama!_" snapped Toshi right back. "Don't you dare go forgetting who the leader of Onifaguchi is! It's me, Kimiyoshi Toshi! The Kimiyoshi Family has always ruled Onifaguchi! And let's not forget which family is the lowest one of the Three Great Families! It's your family, the Sonozaki Family! You guys were only crowned a Great Family so that you could take care of the Watanagashi affairs! Sometimes, I wonder why I don't just demote you to a normal family!" Toshi told the two Sonozaki Family Members sternly. "Or maybe I should do that…?" he added on, giving the idea some serious thought.

"That's enough you three!" a voice bellowed out of nowhere, startling the three of them. They all whipped themselves around to look at a grown woman with long, blue hair flowing down from the top of her head standing near them. "Toshi, you've gone too far! Takeshi, you have angered our village leader enough already! Would the both of you just stop fighting?"

Toshi looked angered at the interruption. "Furude Takara! How dare you interrupt our conversation! I was making sure that these wretched Sonozaki idiots understood their place!" he yelled at the blue-haired woman.

The woman called Furude Takara gave him a menacing glare. "I have had enough of your reminders, Toshi. We all know you're the most powerful in the village. Now would you just shut up?" she requested unkindly.

Toshi spat at the Furude Head and gave her a warning glare, telling her to also remember the fact that he was higher in status than she was. Takara, however, did not look the least bit threatened by his glares and instead narrowed her purple eyes at him. Toshi let out one last growl before walking off, leaving the Furude and the two Sonozaki Family members all alone.

"Gee, what the hell is up with him?" muttered Takara.

"He's just a little too proud of himself," answered Takeshi, watching Toshi's back as he wandered off into the distance.

"You got that right. That man has got to do something about this demon. You can't just order a bunch of inexperienced men to go out and kill the damn thing. She's just to strong for them," murmured the blue-haired woman. "Besides, he claims he's such an amazing fighter. So why the hell doesn't he just go do it himself? He'd be known as a damn hero for the rest of Onifaguchi history."

Takeshi's eyes suddenly lit up upon hearing Takara's last sentence. An idea began to form in his mind; an idea that would certainly give the Sonozaki family some pride as one of the Three Great Families of Onifaguchi. "That's it!" he cried out. "Thank you, Takara! I know what I need to do now! Come now, Ayame. I need to talk to you in private," he spoke before grabbing his daughter's hand. She opened her mouth to protest but was pulled away before she could do so.

Takara raised an eyebrow at the two of them. "Now what was that about?"

~~~~X~~~~

The two of them returned to the Sonozaki Manor soon after. The Sonozaki Manor was quite small at this time and could hardly be called a manor. They had just enough rooms to fit the main family and several servants as well as a kitchen and a bathroom. Not only that, but the rooms weren't very well furnished either. This was just one of the ways in which the Sonozaki Family was inferior to the other two great families of Onifaguchi.

Takeshi, the current head of the Sonozaki family, was sitting in the largest room on top of a cushion. He held a cup of tea in his hands and would take a sip every minute or two. In front of him sat his daughter and heiress to the Sonozaki Family, Sonozaki Ayame. She looked at her father curiously, wondering why he had called her here. Normally at this time of day, she would be spending hours practicing her swordswoman skills and material arts.

"I need to make the Sonozaki Family great, Ayame. Everyone says that we're inferior and I can't take anymore of that," Takeshi spoke, taking a small tip of his boiling hot tea. "We need to become stronger."

Ayame titled her head to the side. "Now how are we going to do that, Father? Kimiyoshi will never let us grow any stronger than he is. He's just too concerned about his power and all that stuff," she asked her father.

A sigh. "Yeah, I know about that. But I've come up with something that will certainly give the Sonozaki Family something to be proud about," he replied, setting down his now empty cup of tea on the wooden floor next to him. "It's something that will get the village to respect us instead of that Kimiyoshi idiot."

"And what would that be, father?" asked Ayame once again.

Takeshi closed his eyes of an extremely dark green shade. With a deep breath, he spoke, "I'm going to kill Madoka all by myself. That way, we will be recognized by the villagers at the heroes of Onifaguchi forever."

Visible amounts of shock spread across Ayame's face. "What was that, father?"

He cleared his throat. "I said, Ayame, I'm going to kill that vile Madoka myself. I will not get help from any of those other villagers no matter how experienced some of them might be. The only good fighters are from the Furude and Kimiyoshi family, after all."

Ayame seemed hesitant. Madoka had killed so many men without even putting any effort into it. How was her father to beat such a horrible demon? And what was to happen if he were to die? Of course, her father was much more experienced than the average Onifaguchi member in terms of fighting. But that didn't mean she still was worried for his sake. The demon was tough and could easily kill him. "Father, but-" she began to speak.

"No buts, Ayame. I've already made up my mind," Takeshi said, cutting her off. "All Toshi has been doing is sit around on his big fat butt and watch as people die. There's no way inexperienced men like that could ever kill a demon like her. Toshi is no good for the village, Ayame. He doesn't even know what he's planning. The system he has set up is all wrong. The demon always knows exactly where the people are located because they are always in the same place waiting for an attack. Instead, I'm going to go search for the demon and ambush her when she doesn't suspect a thing," he explained.

That plan might just work. Madoka always knew that there would be humans waiting for her at that same spot every single day, so there was never a chance to pull a surprise attack. If he were to go looking for her and surprise her, he might just have a chance at slaying the demon once and for all. "Father…."

Takeshi stood up and brushed off his clothing, smiling at his daughter. "Don't worry, Ayame. I'll definitely come back alive carrying the corpse of that disgusting demon," he reassured her. "I'm leaving now, so…"

Ayame wasn't totally convinced, however. "But father, what if you don't come back?" she asked him.

Takeshi grabbed his katana from behind him. It was a special katana that he had used since he was a teenage boy, or so he told to everyone that asked about it. He had quite the skills fighting with swords and had passed down that skill to his daughter. "Then, I want you to know now that you're my precious little daughter and I love you… so much," he spoke, patting his daughter's head of green hair.

Ayame looked down at her feet. "Thank you, father," she managed to mutter.

~~~~X~~~~

Takeshi had left the Sonozaki Manor on his quest to slay the demon that had been tormenting the village for such a long time. Now, Ayame was in her room waiting for her father's return. He would certainly come back with that demon dead, wouldn't he? Her father was strong and wasn't someone to be underestimated. He could surely kill her, right?

Sighing, Ayame rolled over on her futon. He had left a few hours ago, so it shouldn't be too much longer until he came back. In truth, she was jut horribly bored and needed someone to talk to.

Ayame pulled herself from the comfort of her futon and walked out of the door. She figured that since there wasn't anything for her to do, she should just go and practice her swordswoman skills. She often took her training very seriously and practiced it every single day. She had already practiced earlier that morning but she found herself with nothing better to do. She dragged herself over to the small dojo that they held in the back of their house. It wasn't anything too marvelous, but she could at least train there. The green-haired girl took a step into the dojo and began to walk towards where they kept their weapons. Besides her father's katana, every weapon was kept in the dojo. She didn't have a weapon that specifically belonged to her and shared them all with the rest of the family. The previous Sonozaki heads practiced with these same weapons when they were still in training.

Glancing around the many types of swords that the Sonozaki family kept, she tried to figure out which one she was going to practice with today. Of course, there wasn't anyone to practice on but that didn't mean she couldn't train. She decided just to use a bokken for now, which she often used for training when she was all alone.

It was always hard training without a target for her, so Ayame decided just to focus on the movement of the sword and her slices. If she couldn't perfect her sword movements then she might was well give up on fighting all together. It was important that she practiced every day or else she might just lose her skill. Her father had often told her stories about the past Sonozaki heads and how they had worked so hard on training every day, including himself. She felt pressure on herself as the Sonozaki heiress and figured that it would be terrible if she didn't learn how to fight. After all, the Sonozaki family had to show that they were just as good as the Kimiyoshi family to the rest of the village.

"Wow, you're good, sis!" a voice called out of nowhere.

Startled, Ayame dropped the sword and turned around to the source of the voice. Sitting there was a girl completely identical to her, watching her train with the sword. "H-Hana! How long have you been here for?"  
The girl named Hana smiled. "I've been watching you for quite a while. Kind of makes me wonder why you're so dedicated to training yourself in sword skills," she spoke.

Ayame sighed at her younger twin sister. Hana was a girl who was ridiculously laid back and hated any kind of work. When Takeshi had offered to help her train a little, she instantly refused the offer saying the training was just too much work. Hana spent most of her days wandering about the village talking to kids her age and spending time lying down in her room. "You could at least try handling a sword once. Who knows, you might actually find it kind of fun," she suggested.

Hana shook her head almost instantly. "Nope, not a chance. Fighting is kind of boring. I'd prefer to do reading or something," she replied, not even giving the suggestion a thought.

Ayame frowned at her sister's lack of motivation to do anything at all. "Well, do you want to do something else, then? I'm kind of bored of training right now, so we could go out," she suggested. The older green-haired woman picked up the abandoned sword from the ground and stashed it away back where she had found it. She was done training for the day. It wasn't really worth it if there wasn't anything to practice on. Perhaps she would train with her father when he got back.

"Great idea!" replied Hana with an excited grin. She instantly hopped up from the ground, wanting to leave as soon as possible. Taking a walk around Onifaguchi was one of the very, very few things she enjoyed, after all. It was one of the very few things that she and her sister had in common.

And so, the two sister set out on their walk through Onifaguchi. It was actually a very beautiful land. The villagers made sure that the land was beautiful and rich. The crops they often grew also made the village slightly more pleasing to look at. Many villagers also tended to gardens that they would fill with as many colorful flowers as they could possibly fit in their area.

"Just remember not to go too far west," Ayame reminded her sister as they walked side by side down the dusty paths, "that's where the pile of dead bodies is kept."

Hana wrinkled her nose in disgust. "That's gross. Why exactly do we have to keep a pile of dead bodies anyways? If we can't bury them, can't we at least set them on fire so that they don't make the village smell?" she grumbled. The only disturbing thing about that day was the fact that the land smelt slightly of rotten corpses from the large amount of dead bodies pilled up far west.

"Yeah, but then the village would smell like burnt stuff," Ayame pointed out.

Hana shrugged. "Better than the village smelling like dead bodies."

Just then, a piercing scream sounded out west of them. In a matter of seconds, a young man came running from the west as fast as a chicken with its head cut off. "I saw it! I saw it!" he screamed out, fear in his lilac eyes.

"Tatsuya-kun?" spoke Hana, confused.

The young man with silver hair stopped in his tracks. "Ayame! Hana! I saw the pile of dead bodies by accident!" he cried out in fear. "I was just wandering around doing some chores for my dad and them… oh my god!" he spoke, remembering the gruesome image of the rotten bodies sitting one on top of the other in a sloppy pile. "I think I'm going to barf!"

Hana jumped out of the way. "Well if you're going to throw up, do it somewhere else!" she snapped at him.

"How many bodies were there, Tatsu-chan?" asked Ayame, curious.

The man called Tatsuya looked a little scared. "There must have been fifty of them! Or maybe there were sixty? No, it must have been a hundred bodies!" he cried out, flailing his arms. "I'm going to dieeeee!" he screamed, sinking to the ground.

Ayame sighed. "Man, Tatsu-chan, you're so weird!" she laughed.

Hana raised an eyebrow. "He's too weird."

Tatsuya stood back up, brushing off his brown shorts. "But in all honesty, the murders are getting a little much, eh? Someone's gotta to stop that demon woman. Madoka, was it?" he spoke, trying to get the dust out of his pants.

"My dad's out to kill her now," Ayame informed the silver-haired man in front of her.

Tatsuya jumped back in surprise, stumbling on his feet a little. "Whaaat? Why would he do something like that? Isn't that a little dangerous?" he pointed out.

"To be short, we're sick of how Kimiyoshi is leading the village and how he's always saying that the Sonozaki family is inferior to him. So, basically, he's doing it to gain power for the Sonozaki family," explained Ayame.

Tatsuya nodded knowingly. "Yeah yeah, I get what you're saying. The Kimiyoshi family is kind of stupid, to be honest. If I were to be completely truthful, I'd say the Sonozaki family is my favorite of the Three Great Families of Onifaguchi," he spoke, running fingers through his short silver hair. "Kimiyoshi Toshi is a total jerk and doesn't know how to run the village. His son is kind of stupid, too. I mean really! He doesn't understand half the stuff I tell him. Furude Takara has some serious attitude issues and her daughter is no better. I like your dad, though. He's a cool guy who has always been nice to me. Besides…" he suddenly cut off, taking a step forward towards the two girls. "…The Sonozaki family has a pair of such beautiful twin girls~" he added on, smiling at them in a not-so-innocent way.

Ayame blushed red. "W-Wait a moment! W-What are you trying to say?" she stammered.

"I think you're beautiful is all," he spoke nonchalantly, knowing his words were causing her to blush. Tatsuya was quite the strange person. When he wasn't acting like he was a stupid little boy, he was acting like a total flirt. He found it fun to make girls blush like that. "So nothing much, I guess."

Hana sighed, not one bit taken by his flirting. "Okay, that's quite enough Tatsuya-kun. We all know you have a huge crush on my sister. Now let's get going!" she cried out, dragging her twin sister away from the handsome silver-haired man by her kimono as Ayame tried to protest. She waved a quick goodbye to Tatsuya before she was pulled further and further away from him by Hana.

"Gee, sis, I don't see why you like that weirdo guy. He's a total idiot and he sucks at flirting," grumbled Hana.

Ayame blushed, looking away. "Stop it… Hana. I just do… okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever sis. Now let's go stop by the butcher's house or something. I'm getting kind of hungry," she spoke, tugging on her sister's hand

~~~~X~~~~

The woods of Onifaguchi were thick and unpleasant to walk through. Most villagers were advised never to set foot deep into the woods, for that was where demons lurked. When the fear of Madoka rose, the number of people that wandered in the forest diminished until it reached zero. The woods had been abandoned by all human life for months.

Well, until now, that was.

Takeshi pushed himself through the many trees, determined to find the demon that had been terrorizing the village for months. His katana was strapped to his back, sheathed. He was not enjoying the woods one bit. He had been in the woods several times before as a child, and even then he found it a little unpleasant to walk through. Currently, he was trudging through a mountain covered with trees. In the distance, the Saiguden was visible. He wasn't too sure where to start looking for the blonde demon, so he figured that he'd just go wandering around the outskirts of Onifaguchi.

He growled as a low branch scraped against his cheek and drew a little blood. He was beginning to get a little irritated with the amount of trees that plagued the mountains. Just how many trees could a single forest have?

After what seemed like hours, he came to a strange clearing. For some reason, there was a spot where there were no trees. The area was shaped like a circle and was covered in dirt. He kicked some dirt up, not knowing what to do next. He had wandered so far and there was no sign of the demon.

Sighing, Takeshi crossed the clearing and went further into the woods. There just seemed to be no end to the trees.

That's when he spotted her from a slight distance. Madoka was sitting on a rock facing a very, very shallow stream. She was poking at the rocks underneath the water and was running her claws through the stream. She lifted her claws out, picking at them a little with her fangs. She was clearly unaware of the presence of the Sonozaki Head just behind her.

Takeshi unsheathed his katana and held it at the ready. Perhaps he could run up to her and slice her head off when she was still unaware of his presence. It was a long shot, but he decided to go for it. If he couldn't slice the head, he'd slice a limb or two. He just needed to strike a severe blow while she wasn't looking. That would give him the upper hand for the rest of the fight and could possibly guarantee his victory.

Madoka was still unaware as she held her hand up and spread her fingers apart so that she could get a good look at each sharp claw that was attached to each one of her five fingers. She wiggled her fingers, titling her head curiously. Takeshi raised his sword, ready to fight the demon. Then, he charged at her. He couldn't make very much sound or else she would surely notice him.

Takeshi aimed for the neck. If he could slice her head that would mean that he could kill her instantly. Madoka instantly sensed that was something behind her and whipped herself around, catching the sight of the man running towards her with a sharp katana. Shocked that someone would actually run into the forest to travel her, she was temporally frozen to the rock. However, she quickly got over that. Madoka tumbled out of the way without thinking, causing Takeshi to miss his target and slice through thin air instead.

Madoka did a summersault before whipping herself back to her feet so that she was facing her attacker. "My, my. I'm surprised one of you actually came out here to search for me. Not only that, but I'm surprised that you found me," she purred. "Guess I'll just have to take you down, too. You humans never do learn, do you? You can't beat a demon~."

Takeshi smirked, clutching the hinge of his katana. "I guess I'll have to prove you wrong on that one, then," he spoke, slowly drawing closer and closer to the demon. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Sonozaki Takeshi, the head of the Sonozaki family. Killing me will not be as easy as killing those untrained men back in Onifaguchi," he spoke in an attempt to distract the demon from the sword he was drawing closer and closer to her.

But Madoka was no fool. She knew exactly what he was trying to do. "Is that so? Well give me a good fight, then. And don't try to fool me by using such silly matters. It won't work," she added on, glancing at the katana that was making a move to chop off her head.

Realizing that his plan had failed, Takeshi made a quick slash of his katana, aiming for her limbs. Madoka smirked as she jumped up and the katana's blade ran straight under her feet, just missing her. Madoka lunged herself forward to claw the man, but Takeshi managed to duck out of the way and sent Madoka crashing into a nearby tree. Seeing this as an opportunity, Takeshi lunged the katana forward to slash the demon's back. The katana wasn't a very good sword for stabbing but it was masterful at slicing and cutting. Just to be safe, Takeshi had swiped a small knife from the kitchen and had stuffed it in his pocket in case he needed to use it. The blade of the katana sliced the demon's back just barely, drawing a medium amount of blood.

Madoka gasped as her back was sliced; surprised had having a human actually injure her besides when she blocked their attacks. In a rage, she whipped herself around and clawed his chest deeply. Blood filled the wounds on his chest and began to seep out and trickle down to his stomach. Takeshi stumbled back, one hand on his injured chest and one had still holding onto his katana. The Sonozaki let out a battle cry, swiping his katana down from the air and onto the demon once again. But Madoka was sure she wouldn't be fooled again. She quickly pounced out of the way of the sharp blade and watched as the katana instead cut open the tree she had been against. Now, Takeshi lunged for her with his katana again. Madoka was getting a little bored of this fight, so she decided to try to make things a little more fun for her. She caught the blade of the katana in between her two flat palms and held it there for a little while with all her strength. Clamping down on it, Madoka pulled the katana out of Takeshi's hands and sent it flying behind her. Now that Takeshi didn't have that katana, he'd have to come up with another way to fight her. He ran towards the katana, desperate to use it, as it was his best shot at victory. Madoka grunted and blocked his way, wanting to have a more interesting battle.

Takeshi had no chose. He drew the knife that he had stored away in a small pocket and pointed it at the demon in front of him. He wasn't confident on his material art skills, so using a weapon, even if it was just a small one, was his best bet. He made a move to stab her in the heart. Madoka instantly knew what his target was and caught the blade of the knife with her hands. Grumbling with annoyance at his failed attempt, Takeshi pried the knife away from the demon's hand, causing it to slash the inside of her hand and wound it badly. Blood dripped from her palm and flowed like a river down her wrist and her arms. Madoka cursed under her breath and stuck out her pink tongue to lap at the sticky red liquid. The Sonozaki smirked. This was his chance. He brought the knife upwards on her face, slashing her eye. Madoka screamed out in pain and abandoned the palm of her hand to clutch her eye with that same bloody palm. Blood splattered her face and poured down to the ground. Madoka removed the palm and blinked open her injured eye. A large mark that went down her eyelid indicated that she had certainly been injured.

"Let me show you that pain… twelve times worse!" cried Madoka. She positioned her claws near his face and swiped it upwards to his eye. She dug her claws in deeply until his left eyeball came clean off and rolled to the floor. Takeshi instantly dropped the knife on the floor with the shock at receiving such an immense amount of pain. He used that now free hand to cover where his left eye used to.

Madoka smirked and picked up the discarded small knife. She hovered her toes above the dislodged eyeball and rolled it between her toes, smiling at the feeling of it. The next thing she did, however, surprised Takeshi. She whipped herself around and dashed into the forest away from his sight.

"Wait a moment, you vile demon! You'll pay for that!" cried Takeshi. He sped himself after her. He came too far to not finish this battle. He absolutely _had_ to kill that demon. That way, he could give the Sonozaki family the pride they deserved.

He followed her into the thick woods, all the while trying to avoid being further injured by the low branches that covered the area. Madoka turned her head slightly and gave the man a quick glare before returning to pushing herself through the thick trees. Growingly, Takeshi figured he had no choice but to follow her until she stopped walking.

They came to the same clearing as before. At this moment, Madoka turned around to face him. "You know, the moment I ran you should have picked up your katana," she reminded him, smirking. "It looks like you're a fool after all."

In a matter of seconds, Madoka slashed the knife across his stomach and split the flesh open. She stuck the knife in and began to cut through the rest flesh that was located around the wound. She smiled as he screamed out in pain and with realization of his careless mistake. If he had just picked up that katana, everything would have been different. Perhaps he could have even won the battle. Madoka focused on pushing the knife deeper and deeper and deeper into his body. With a quick movement, she stuck the knife inside the slit of his open stomach and cut through his body upwards. A shriek sounded out from his mouth as his vision began to blur.

"I just love hearing you scream!" cried Madoka as she removed the knife and plunged it into an untouched part of his stomach. She then removed it and kept plunging the knife in and out of him on every part of his skin that was untouched. Finally, she decided that she was bored of torturing him and thrust the sharp knife into the man's heart, killing him instantly.

"Oh, how I just love killing people! It's so fun~! I come up with new ways every time!" the demon cried out with maddened laughter as she looked at the dead body on the ground. "Madoka wins once again!"

Her laughter faded as she contemplated what to do next. "I think I'll keep this body with me as a trophy for defeating the head of one of the Great Families of Onifaguchi," she decided, grabbing the body by the feet and dragging it into the forest. "Perhaps I'll get a snack afterwards…"

~~~~X~~~~

"SHE HAS RETURNED ONCE AGAIN!" bellowed the new leader of the group of men hunting down the demon. "EVERYONE, GET TO YOUR HOUSES! READY THE WEAPONS!"

Ayame spotted in her tracks when she heard the cry. Wait a moment… Madoka had come back? She stood there frozen as all the people around her ran screaming into their houses. Hana gave her a worried glance, knowing exactly why she was afraid. The two of them had gone shopping and were now carrying a load of food that they had bought from the butcher's house and the farmers. Most of the time, villagers were glad to give out free food to the Sonozaki Family as respect.

"F-Father…" was all Ayame managed to stutter out. Without thinking, she dropped the bags she was carrying and dashed towards where the call came from.

"Sis! Hold on a second! Don't go over there!" Hana cried to her sister. But it was already too late. Ayame had disappeared from sight, leaving her sister with a bunch of bags to carry back to the house all by herself.

Ayame ignored all the screaming voices around her. She didn't even notice the villagers looking at her as if she had gone mad. A worried and feared expression was plastered across her face as she sprinted forward. She was not scared of the demon. She only feared for her father's life. Some older people yelled at her to find a place to hide or else the demon would surely kill her the most horrible way she could possibly think of.

But all that didn't matter to her. Her father had gone out to kill the demon so she would never come back to them and now she had returned for a meal. Did that mean her father was…?

Ayame stopped when she reached the lookout area. She looked down over the railing and saw a group of men staring horrified as Madoka tore the heart of one of the men right out of his chest using her claws, sharp as the deadliest of knives. She saw no sign of her father. Determination growing inside of her, Ayame clutched the railing and threw her body over the edge. She landed on her two feet with a thud. It had been a lucky break that she had ended up landing on her feet instead of her back or any other part of her body. She hadn't done something like that before, ever.

Madoka was busy poking the heart in her hand with one of her sharp claws, laughing all the while. She stopped, however, when she noticed the green-haired woman stomp over to her with an enraged yet worried expression. "Oh, it looks like we have an unexpected visitor," she purred, dropping the heart on the ground.

Ayame took a deep breath. She couldn't be scared of this demon. She had to be brave. "My name is Sonozaki Ayame, heiress to the Sonozaki Family! What have you done with my father?" she demanded.

The demon crossed her arms. "Oh, Sonozaki, eh? I think that was the name of the man I killed a few seconds ago. He put up a good fight, though. Managed to scar me right here," she spoke, pointing a sharp claw to a scar that went down her eyelid. "But I managed to take him down eventually. Wasn't too much different from killing one of these men."

Grief filled Ayame. Her father was dead. Now, that left her as the head of the Sonozaki Family. "You bastard! You killed my father! Now, I'm gonna kill you!" she screamed out in a rage. Her father had been there for her her whole life after her mother had died from giving birth to her and her sister. He had taken great care of them and treated them both with equal amounts of love. Now, he was no longer there for her.

Madoka frowned. "Whoa there, I only came here for a quick snack. If you want to fight with me, meet me tomorrow. There's a clearing up the mountains and just past there there is a meadow filled with flower," she explained to the green-haired woman. "Meet me there at sunset tomorrow. I'll fight you then."

And with that, Madoka retreated into the woods carrying the man she had just killed so that she could eat his remains in private.

Ayame stood there, breathing heavily. She would have to avenge her father. Her father had left this world because he wanted to bring pride to the Sonozaki Family and had failed. Now, as the head of the Sonozaki Family, she had to do the same. She had to finish up what her father had failed to do.

"I'm going to kill that demon and avenge my father," Ayame decided out loud, determination in her voice. The same determination that her father had had before he had past a way.

The men around her looked genuinely surprised with her sudden decision. "Whoa! We can't have another Sonozaki dying! Who would lead the family if you were to die?" one of the men pointed out.

Ayame gave that same man an icy-cold glare, telling him silently to shut his mouth. "I will not die. I will definitely kill that demon and avenge my father. "

Her decision was final. She would meet with the demon in that specified location at sunset tomorrow and finish her up once and for all. Then, the Sonozaki family would gain pride and be recognized as a greater family in Onifaguchi. Perhaps they'd even surpass the Kimiyoshi family. But most of all, she wanted to avenge her loving father that had cared for her all her life.

No one could stop her now. That was something she was sure of.

~~~~X~~~~

**Crimso's Corner.**

**Hey there! I kind of rushed at the end because I got to go out for a walk while it's still nice outside. My mom said she'd give me ten minutes to finish my chapter and that includes writing this note here and uploading the chapter! So yeah, kind of rushed at the end.**

**So how do you like Ayame's tale so far? Cool, eh?**

**I still feel sick, by the way. I hope that goes away soon.**

**By the way, thanks for all the reviews. This here is a reminder to please review this chapter as always. If you review this chapter, you get tickets to the Crimso Land Amusement Park. Oh yeah, and you also get a bonus ticket to bring a friend if you noticed that the area where Takeshi and Madoka fought was the camping grounds.**

**Crimso's Corner is real short today. I split the chapter in half. I was originally going to do the whole story in one chapter but I figured that was a little too much. So yeah, not as long as I imagined. It's still the longest chapter I've written for a while, though. I hope I made up for that last short chapter.**

**Out.**

**~Crimso**


	22. Chapter 21: Book Seventeen II

**A hello from a sick(ish) Crimso! I managed to convince my mom to let me stay home from school so I figured I'd spend some time writing this up for you guys. I'm not actually that sick, but I haven't missed a day of school yet and I figured I'd take the opportunity to stay home from school. It shouldn't hurt, should it?**

**On a random note, I bought volume 2 of Meakashi-hen a few days ago. I really like reading the official translations. I don't know why, I just do. I have a space on my desk I keep my favorite series on and Higurashi is sitting there right now. Well, it has been since July. I really liked the nail ripping scene in the manga plus that scene where Shion tried to strangle Mion. …Yeah. The official translations are really good, actually. I was surprised when they left in some Japanese words unlike in most translations. Like how Shion calls Mion Onee instead of sister like how they are usually translated. That's a good thing, by the way. **

**Anyways, let's get to chapter 21! (I can't believe I actually made it to chapter 21. I've always planed out fanfictions of this length and never managed to make it past chapter 7.)**

**Happy Late Easter, by the way.**

~~~~X~~~~

The villagers peaked their heads back out from their houses when they heard that Madoka had left. A few of them crawled back inside despite this, for some were too scared to even walk outside.

Ayame rushed through the worried crowd who were waiting to see who the demon had claimed. She pushed some villagers who had gotten in her way to the ground without thinking and continued to dash down the paths. Where had she left Hana? She had to tell her the bad news.

It took her a little while until she managed to spot her younger twin hiding behind a giant rock with all the food they had bought sitting in bags next to her. She hadn't had enough time to go back to the Sonozaki Manor to hide. Besides, her sister had left her with too many bags to carry back. The rock offered little protection for her if the demon really _was _to invade the village but luckily she never went past the lookout area. That was another flaw in Toshi's system. There wasn't really a point to go hide in fear while the men pretty much got themselves killed when Madoka never even went inside the village.

"Ah, sis! You left me with all these bags!" called Hana to her sister.

"Sorry, I needed to confirm something," muttered Ayame as she went to join her sister behind the rock.

Hana gathered up her bags and gestured for her sister to take the other ones in her own hands. "Man, sis, you really surprised me. You just ran away for no reason! I mean, at least tell me what you're trying to do. I was worried that the demon would eat you or something!" she commented as if she had no idea what had just happened. No, that was just it. Hana didn't even come to the conclusion that her father was dead.

Ayame went over how to break the news to her sister. Their father had always been there for them and showed them so much love. They both loved their father so much. "Hana… about father…" Ayame began to speak.

At first, Hana looked a little confused. "Father…?" she repeated. Then, it hit her. Her father had gone out to kill Madoka, hadn't he? So if Madoka had come back, then that meant that her father must have been killed. "…Father!" she cried out in realization, her eyes wide with grief. "He's… father's… dead… isn't he?"  
Ayame nodded solemnly. "Yes. Madoka killed him…"

The news sunk in slowly. If Takeshi was dead, that meant that Ayame was now the head of the Sonozaki Family. She now had so much responsibility on her hands. At the young age of just twenty, Ayame wasn't even sure she could handle all it. Sure, her father had prepared her for this day. She just wasn't expecting it to come so soon.

"Hana. I'm going to finish up father's work," Ayame told her sister.

Hana looked genuinely surprised. "W-What do you mean by that, sis? You're going to kill Madoka…?" she asked, instantly realizing what she had meant.

Ayame gave her sister a nod. "Yes. I've made up my mind. Father died because he wanted to bring pride to the Sonozaki Family. As the new head, it's my job to bring us pride," she told her sister, her tone of voice as serious as it could get.

Hana didn't like the idea one bit. Yet, she knew her sister well. When she made up her mind about something, she'd stop at nothing until she got it done. She knew that now there was no point in arguing with her over the subject. Ayame would certainly ignore whatever she was to say to protest. She just looked down and nodded slightly to show her understanding.

"Thank you for understanding, Hana," spoke Ayame. "Let's head back to the Sonozaki Manor… Madoka told me to meet her tomorrow at sunset so I have plenty of time," she explained.

Ayame bent down to pick up the rest of the bags filled to the top with various foods they were planning to cook together that night. They had bought their father's favorite kind of meat just for him but it looked like they wouldn't be cooking for him tonight. So, instead, they decided to cook it just to honor his bravery and to hopefully give Ayame some good luck in fighting Madoka.

She wasn't even sure if she could manage to do it herself. After all, Madoka had killed her father who had years of experience in fighting. So how was she, who didn't have nearly as much experience, to kill the demon? _No, I can't give up now! I need to finish father's work. I need to prove to that Kimiyoshi idiot that we are just as good as him! He sucks at leading the village. It's only going to bring more death to us if this keeps up!_

As the two of them wandered down the all too familiar path to their house, they ran into Tatsuya running as fast as he could down the path in the opposite direction. His face was painted with fear as he sprinted down, kicking dust up in the air as his feet hit the ground.

"Tatsu-chan!" called Ayame. Tatsuya stopped in his tracks and whipped himself around to face the two twins, but said nothing. "What's wrong with you today, Tatsu-chan? You look like you've just seen a guy get eaten by a demon!" she joked.

But it looked like Tatsuya wasn't in his usual joking mood. He looked strangely serious for someone like him. Tatsuya was usually the kind of person who liked to act like an idiot on purpose and made a whole bunch of jokes. It was strange to see him look so afraid and serious.

"The worst thing ever has just happened!" cried Tatsuya.

Ayame titled her head to the side, confused. "Wait, what?"  
Beads of sweat formed on his forehead and trickled down his face. He was breathing heavily with genuine fright visible in is lilac eyes. "Kimiyoshi… that idiot. He's assigned me to go set with the hunters to kill that demon! I'm going to be killed, definitely!" he cried out. Fear shook his voice like and earthquake and he could not hold back his emotions. Tatsuya had absolutely no experience in fighting.

Hana's eyes grew wide. "But wait a moment, Tatsuya-kun. You have no fighting experience whatsoever! I thought that Kimiyoshi was sending out people who actually had some _talent_!" she yelled out.

Tatsuya tried not to be offended by her last few words. "Yeah, but we're losing all our men with fighting skills. He said that he'd have to use me because he could not find any other men still alive with fighting experience besides the people who were already on the team!" he explained to the two very confused and frightened twins.

His fear passed on to the two girls standing behind him. Had things really gotten _this _bad? "Why doesn't the damn guy go killed the demon himself!" snapped Hana in a rage. "I thought he was always bragging about how he was such an amazing fighter and all that crap!"

"I agree!" yelled Tatsuya. "I shouldn't be putting my life on the line! I need to live, too!"

Ayame stood there, frozen. At that moment, she knew what she had to do. She definitely had to kill that demon before she came back. If she were to come back, then Tatsuya would certainly be the first to be killed. She couldn't allow him to be killed. Not _him_! She surely wouldn't come back before she was to fight her, right? Yet, for some reason, Ayame was still feared for Tatsuya's life. She had already lost someone important to her. She couldn't afford to lose someone else important to her. _Yes, I will kill this demon. I will definitely slay it! Just watch me, Kimiyoshi! I'll prove to you that the Sonozaki family is stronger than you think!_

~~~~X~~~~

The two remaining Sonozaki family members were busy cooking up the food that they had bought. Various vegetables lay on the counter, just waiting to be cut up and thrown in the salad they were making. Ayame grasped onto a red pepper and began to cut it rather sloppily. Spending so much time on training herself to fight came with some disadvantages. She never learned how to cook properly nor did she ever spend enough time on her studying. These were things that would surely hinder her later.

Hana, on the other hand, was quite good at cooking. Unlike her sister, she found fighting and such rather boring and never bothered trying it out. She had never even laid her hand on a sword before. She was busy cooking a piece of wonderfully butchered meat that she had picked up from the butcher shop.

Carelessly, Ayame tossed the chopped pepper into the salad and mixed up the ingredients. She wasn't even sure if she was doing anything right.

When they were finished cooking, they set everything upon a very beautifully painted plate and brought it to the table. They both sat across each other from each other. Normally, their father would sit at the very end of the table and they'd have joyous conversations about their lives. Every here and there, he'd throw in a joke or two. It just wasn't the same without him. The whole table seemed empty and silent.

Both of them said not a word as they began to chew on the food, barely even tasting the flavor. To be honest, none of the twins were really hungry. Ayame couldn't get halfway past her salad before she gave up on eating it entirely. She pushed the bowl away from her with a sigh, not wanting to even look at it. "For some reason, this food is making me feel sick," she grumbled.

Hana stared blankly at her piece of meat, nodding her head automatically. "I know what you mean. Perhaps we should just save the rest for later?" she suggested.

"It would go bad if we saved it for later. How about if I go take some to Tatsu-chan? That guy is always hungry," spoke Ayame.

"Good idea," muttered Hana. The younger green-haired twin stood up and grabbed the half-eaten bits of food. Tatsuya wouldn't mind if they had taken bites out of it. After all, he _was_ Tatsuya. Hana wrapped up the food and placed it in one of the bags she had used to carry the food to her house. "You can take it to him. I'm going to go to my room and read something or something," she muttered.

Ayame let out a sigh as her sister walked out of the kitchen and into the hallway of the Sonozaki Manor. She snatched up the bag and discovered that it was quite heavy and had been filled up to the very top. If she wasn't careful with handling it, the food would likely spill all over the floor.

With the bag in hand, Ayame walked out of the door and into the night. Night, for some reason, seemed a little safer to her. Madoka never came to fight the villagers late at night for whatever reason. Ayame figured it was because she was probably sleeping or resting. Yet, at the same time, night seemed ominous to her. It was almost impossible to tell where you were going. And it was just like that now. Ayame found herself having a hard time maneuvering through the village pathways and around all the other people who were running home for the night. She couldn't even tell where she was. She was just walking through the village by memory.

She was pretty sure that she had reached Tatsuya's house after thirty minutes. The atmosphere around it just seemed to scream Tatsuya to her. Following her instincts, she walked up to the door of the house and knocked on it. She took a small step back and waited for him to answer the door. As she looked over the door, she was sure it was Tatsuya's house. She had been there several times before and remembered each and every time she did so.

The door opened, revealing Tatsuya's confused face, which turned stunned when he saw her standing there. "A-Ayame! I wasn't expecting you to come here!" he cried out in shock.

Ayame smiled. "Yeah, I couldn't finish up my dinner so Hana told me to bring some stuff over to you. I mean, since you like eating and everything," she spoke, holding up the bag so that he could take a good look at it.

Smiling, he took the bag from her hands. "Thank you, Ayame. I really appreciate it. I'm running a little slow on food here, so," he replied, glancing into his empty house.

"Would you… mind if I went inside?" asked Ayame, a light blush on her face unnoticeable underneath the dark hue of the night.

"Sure~! I wouldn't be a man if I rejected such a lovely and beautiful lady~!" sung Tatsuya, giving the flustered Sonozaki head a wink.

The two of them stepped inside his house. Compared to the Sonozaki Manor, Tatsuya's house was very small. All his family had passed away save for him and he had been living all alone for quite some time. Tatsuya had taught himself how to cook, clean and all talents necessary for him to live on his own. As such, he didn't have enough time to train or anything like that.

"Wow, you keep this place pretty neat," Ayame commented as she glanced around the room. "It's not what I'd expect from you, Tatsu-chan."

"Hey, what do you mean by that!" snapped Tatsuya.

Ayame giggled. "I was just joking, Tatsu-chan. I think that it's nice you keep this place clean," she spoke as she wandered around his house. It was rather neat, yes, but there wasn't actually very much in it to begin with. Tatsuya wasn't very rich. As such, he didn't have very much furniture or anything like that. He kept a futon and other things that they'd need but besides that the house was almost completely empty.

"There's not much to do in here. We could go for a walk, if you'd like," the silver-haired man suggested.

The green-haired woman smiled. "Well, that's a good idea! I'll be glad to," she responded.

The two of them then exited the house. It was a little darker than before as some blackened clouds had drifted over the silver moon, cutting off the bright rays that lit up Onifaguchi. The two of them said not a word to each other as they strolled down the familiar dusty paths that ran throughout the village. Instead, they were focusing on where they were going. It would be bad if they were to accidently bump into someone.

The night was rather peaceful to the two of them. It was just nice for them to be in each other's presence. No words needed to be said between them to make that night seem beautiful. All they needed was each other.

However, the peaceful atmosphere was soon broken by the sound of yelling coming from nearby.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY NO?" screamed an enraged voice. The two adults whipped around to find the source of the screaming, but were unable to due to the darkness that surrounded the night like mist.

"I-I can't! I have a wife and daughter and I can't leave them behind!" a desperate voice belonged to a middle-aged man cried. "Please, don't make me do this!" he pleaded.

"You can't say _no!_ You won't die if you just kill the damn demon!" snapped the other voice. It was a voice all too familiar to the green-haired woman._ Kimiyoshi Toshi!_ Ayame thought as realization hit her.

"I cannot kill that demon! She is much too strong and I cannot fight! I have never learned how material arts or how to use weapons. I'm just a farmer!" cried the middle-aged man whom Ayame was unable to identify.

"Well then, if you won't stand for your village, how about if you just die here?" Toshi yelled at the man. Suddenly, a death cry was heard from the man as they heard something like a knife being plunged into his chest, which was soon cut off as death claimed him.

The night seemed to freeze around them. Had Toshi just killed that man? The two of them found themselves unable to move as they heard footsteps patter past them. Thank Oyashiro-sama the night was dark; otherwise they surely would have been killed as well simply for witnessing such a horrifying event. Toshi walked right past them without noticing and soon his footsteps faded away.

"…Did you just hear that?" Ayame spoke to the silver-haired man next to her. She already knew the answer to that question. Of course he had heard such a thing! In the darkness, the only thing that she could see was his face, filled with fear.

"…I-I… h-heard that alright," he responded, his voice trembling with fright. "K-Kimiyoshi… did he really just kill-?"

"Y-Yeah, he really did just kill someone…" responded Ayame, still not able to move. She had known that Toshi wasn't a very good leader, but this was something on an entirely different level. He had really just killed a person for refusing his orders. The man had a perfectly reasonable reason to decline the order, and yet… he was _killed_ for it.

It was as if both of them had been paralyzed from head to toe. None of them could fully process what had just happened. "I knew he was a bad leader… sending all those people out and ordering me to go, too… but… this is…" spoke Tatsuya.

"…Unforgivable. H-He's actually been _killing_ people who deny the offer?" Ayame said, shock filling her voice.

"T-Thank god he didn't give me a choice to deny… I'd already be dead," Tatsuya said. "Even though I'll probably be killed anyway," he added on. He looked down and his silver bangs covered his eyes, giving him a dark feel.

That's right. Toshi had forced Tatsuya to join in on hunting Madoka on the outlook of Onifaguchi. And yet, he had no experience in fighting or anything of that sort. "Tatsu-chan… I have something to tell you," Ayame said. She hadn't yet told him about her plan to meet up with the demon at sunset tomorrow. Now, it would be the perfect time.

"Yes, Ayame?"  
"Tomorrow… I'm going to kill that demon with my own two hands."

Tatsuya was at a loss for words as surprise filled his lilac eyes. "W-What did you just say, Ayame? Did I hear you wrong?" he cried out.

Ayame shook her head, a sad smile painted on her face. "No, you really heard me right. I said I'm going to kill Madoka once and for all. All by myself," she repeated, completely serious about the subject.

The shock in Tatsuya's eyes was replaced by fear. "W-Why…"

Ayame looked up into the distance and at a single, shining star that was visible through a tear in the thick blanket of black clouds coating the night sky. "Tatsu-chan, my father died fighting that demon. He tried to kill her because he wanted to show the villagers of Onifaguchi and Kimiyoshi that the Sonozaki family was just as good as the others. We've…. We've always been picked on by the Furude family and the Kimiyoshi family because we were only crowned a great family because we were in charge of the Watanagashi festival. I think I've told you this before, yes? Father died for _us. _So now, as the new head of the Sonozaki family, it's only right that I go searching for Madoka and finish his mission," she explained to the shocked and confused man that stood next to her. A flurry of emotions rose up in him, ones that he wanted to express but could not find the words to do so. So, instead, he kept his mouth closed as she continued on with her speech. "Father was a great fighter, as I've told you. He had been training for years and years and had perfected the skills of a swordsman. And yet, Madoka still managed to kill him. That's why… Tatsu-chan, I might be killed as well," she spoke. He looked at her, fear clouding his eyes as he opened his mouth to protest the idea of her going to kill the demon. However, Ayame was not done. "That's why I wanted to tell you this one thing before I go… in case I really do die."

Ayame looked into Tatsuya's lilac eyes with her own, a mixture of emotions blended in them. "…I love you, Ishida Tatsuya," she finished, total seriousness in her voice as she spoke those fated three words.

"W…Wha…" was all he could say in response. He felt his own heart begin to beat faster with every growing second. At that moment, he even wondered if Ayame could hear his very heartbeat. The next thing she did, however, made him feel as if he was going to die of a heart attack. She walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his chest, burying her face into it.

"I just wanted to tell you that before I went. You don't have to return my feelings… I just wanted to let you know," she spoke, her voice muffled by the feel of his chest.

His breathing grew harsher and harsher the longer she hugged him. He wasn't sure what to do. Finally, he decided to give into his own emotions as he felt his arms begin to snake around her back, hugging her back. "Y-Yeah, me too. I love you too."

"I…I'm so glad," breathed Ayame, snuggling closer into his warm chest. "I was afraid you didn't. I…I just figured I'd tell you that. You know, in case I die," she added on.

They pulled away from each other, allowing themselves to get a look into the other's eyes. "Ayame, don't die, please," Tatsuya spoke, his hands still placed gently on both of her shoulders. "I don't know what I'd do without you… so please…"

Ayame laughed, startling the silver-haired man in front of her. "You silly. I'm not planning on dying! I just wanted to tell you, in case I actually do die. You know what I mean? I'm just being super prepared for the consequences of… well, dying," she spoke, gently punching him in the stomach jokingly.

He jumped back a little from the surprise of suddenly being punched, but quickly shook it off. "Alright. But for my sake, please promise me you won't die. And if you do, promise me you won't die without putting up a good fight," he spoke. Tatsuya then stuck out his hand for her to take. "Shake if you agree to the terms."

Ayame smiled and happily took the man's hand with her own. "It's a promise."

~~~~X~~~~

It was just before sunset the next day. The sky had begun to turn a slight pink and orange that was visible if you looked closely, but not enough so that all who gazed upon it could clearly see it. Ayame had spent the whole day practicing her material arts for she found that the most crucial. She did not have a sword to call her own, as such, she figured it would be best if she would just train her material arts and bring a smaller weapon. A sword was hard to use if you hadn't been training in how to use it for years and years. While she had been training for several years, Ayame was not confident enough on her swordswoman skills to actually use a sword in such a crucial fight. If she brought something smaller like a knife, then perhaps she'd have a better chance at winning the fight. Judging by what happened with her father, it was possible that Madoka had somehow pulled the weapon away from him. There was no chance of her father losing a fight when he had his sword with him. That was the only logical explanation that Ayame could come up with.

Ayame snatched up a sharp knife from the kitchen. This would be her weapon. It was rather small, but was better than using no weapon at all. She slipped the knife up the sleeve of her kimono, careful not to slit her skin in the process. _All right, that's all I need. I'm a little early, but it doesn't matter. It might take me a while to get up there. _

It was time for her to leave. Ayame gave the Sonozaki Manor once last look before she walked out of the door for what might be the very last time. Thinking about how it might be the last time seeing all this, she felt a little strange. For some reason, it felt as if she was walking directly towards her death…

Ayame ignored that thought. She needed to have confidence in herself. There was no way she could slay the demon without any bravery.

And so, the green-haired Sonozaki walked down the dusty paths of Onifaguchi once again. The demon had told her to meet her at a meadow that was filled with flowers. Where did she say that was again? Oh yeah, it was just past a clearing up the mountains. The way to the mountains was just a bit past the Furude Shrine and next to the Saiguden. With that in mind, she made her way to the center of the village and to the Furude Shrine.

Even back then, the Furude Shrine was still fascinating in it's great size. At this time, there were many, many more Furude family members who paid strict attention to the shrine's cleanliness. In fact, Ayame was able to spot Furude Takara's daughter dusting off the floor outside the entrance. She was hard at work, taking her job very seriously.

Ayame made her way past the Furude Shrine and soon reached a bundle of thick trees. If she were to make it past the trees, then she would be able to reach the mountain. Grumbling, the Sonozaki pushed her way through the trees. There were several low branches that she had to avoid or else she'd be cut by their sharp points.

Eventually, she reached the mountain, which was also coated with trees. _Great, it looks like I'm going to have to deal with more of these trees _Ayame thought as she stared at the challenge ahead of her.

The trees weren't as big of a problem as Ayame initially believed them to be. They were mostly just annoying to walk through. The posed the threat of an occasional scratch though that obviously wasn't enough to hinder the Sonozaki. She had ventured into the thick forest several times before so it wasn't actually that difficult.

After a half an hour of climbing up the steep mountain, Ayame decided she'd need a little break. At a part of the forest where there weren't as many trees, she sat down and leaned herself against a giant, cold stone. She gave herself a few minutes to catch her breath, tired from having climbed so far. She never imagined that she'd ever go so far away from Onifaguchi in her whole entire life.

So, she sat still for a little while, catching her breath. However, her rest was soon interrupted as she spotted a speck of blonde hair in the distance. Ayame instantly jumped to her feet to confirm her suspicions. Her eyes widened as she indentified Madoka in the distance. She was busy trying to grasp a fruit from a high branch. She jumped up in the air, reaching for the fruit with her sharp claws. Ayame raised a green eyebrow at the sight before her. There were several things wrong with the picture. One, Madoka only ate humans, so why was she trying to reach for a fruit? Two, shouldn't she be waiting for her at the meadows?

She quickly shook the details off. It didn't matter, did it? The demon in front of her was the demon that killed her father. It would be better to give her a surprise attack, wouldn't it? Ayame reached up her sleeve and drew out the knife that she had placed there. She held it out in front of her, ready to stab the demon as soon as she got close.

Ayame let out a battle cry as she ran forward, aiming to pierce the flesh of the demon in front of her. Upon hearing this cry, Madoka turned away from the fruit and stared at the girl in shock. It took her a few seconds to remember that she should be ducking for cove. Madoka quickly dove to the ground, causing a flurry of dust to rise up in the air.

Ayame stopped when she realized she had missed her target. Whipping around, she stared at the demon on the ground. "I've got you now, Madoka!" cried Ayame as she aimed the knife at her back. She then pressed the cold, steel point against the demon's back, ready to push it into her flesh and finish up this state of unrest once and for all. With just one stab, it would all be over. "Have you got any last words, Madoka?" she spoke, feeling triumphant at having finally cornered the demon that had caused so much terror in her village for the last few months.

Madoka coughed, having gotten some dirt in her mouth when she fell to the ground. "W-Who… the hell are you?" Madoka asked in between her coughs.

The Sonozaki blinked at it in confusion. "I believe I've already introduced myself, haven't I? I'm Sonozaki Ayame, and I've come here to avenge my father and all of the citizens of Onifaguchi that you have so brutally slain! So I ask of you, do you have any last words before I pierce your heart?" she asked once again, holding the steel blade against the demon's back threateningly.

The demon gave the girl a glare through the corner of her light blue eye. "A-Are you kidding me? I haven't been to Onifaguchi in at least a hundred years!" Madoka coughed, slight fear shaking her voice.

At this point, Ayame was extremely confused. She had thought she had finally had Madoka right in the palm of her hand, and yet, she was now claiming that she had never set foot on Onifaguchi. _No, this is just her trap! Don't fall for it, Ayame!_ "Shut up, Madoka! I know your tricks! You shall never fool me! So, are you ready to die, MADOKA?" she screamed at it.

The demon blinked. "Oh, I see what the problem is now," the demon spoke nonchalantly. "I am afraid you have the wrong demon. My name is not Madoka."

"Well, who the hell are you, then?" growled Ayame, threatening to push the knife into her back. She had enough of the demon's lies.

"My name is Sayuri," the demon spoke, her tone showing no signs of lying, "I'm Madoka's identical twin demon sister."

"_Excuse me?_" Ayame spoke in disbelief.

"I said it. I'm Sayuri. If you don't believe me, then you can check my eye. Yesterday, I saw my sister with a giant scar going down her eye," she said, her voice sounding slightly irritated due to the fact that she was being pinned down. The dirt was quite uncomfortable to her, to say the least.

Just to make sure, Ayame looked down at the demon's eyes. The scar that had been going down Madoka's eye yesterday was no longer there. Slowly, Ayame drew the knife's blade away from the demon's back, breathing heavily. Almost instantly, the demon sat up and began to dust off her kimono. "Thank you. You said your name was Sonozaki Ayame, yes? Pleasure to meet you," she spoke. Sayuri stood up on her two legs, holding out the stomach part of her kimono to toss away the rest of the dirt that covered it. Then, she turned back around and continued to reach for the fruit that was hanging from the high branch. "Damn it, stupid fruit," she cursed.

Ayame watched as Sayuri reached for the fruit, confused. "Wait a second, why the heck are you trying to eat _fruit _anyways?" she questioned the demon, suspicious.

Sayuri almost managed to grasp the fruit, but her hand slipped away out of reach at the very last second. "I'm not like my sister. I don't go invading villages to eat people. I eat the travelers that come to the forest. Unfortunately, it looks like no one has bothered venturing in here for a very long time. So, I've had to resort to eating whatever I can find," she explained, reaching for the fruit once again. This time, however, she managed to get a hold of it and plucked it right from the branch with her claws. Sayuri shined the fruit with one of her sleeves and took a bite of it. "It's disgusting, but I can't be bothered to go over there and kill someone," the demon spoke with her mouth full.

Ayame's eyes narrowed. "Why don't you just kill me, then? I'm traveling through the forest," pointed out.

Sayuri swallowed the fruit in her mouth and brushed away the juice that had rolled down her lips with the sleeve of her kimono. "You just tried to kill me and nearly succeeded. If I tried to kill you, you'd surely kill me first," the demon spoke, holding up the fruit so she could look at it some more.

"You remind me of Hana," the Sonozaki muttered as the demon took another bite into the fruit, wincing at the horrid taste.

"Hana?" Sayuri repeated, swallowing the fruit, bitter to her taste buds.

Ayame nodded. "Yeah, my younger identical twin sister. Hana," she spoke.

Sayuri gave one glance to the fruit, giving it a puzzled look. "Oh, you have a twin, too? Nasty things, aren't they?" she commented, picking at the fruit's skin with her sharp claws.

"No, I actually like my twin sister, thank you very much," replied the green-haired woman with a slight growl to her voice.

Sayuri took a bite into the fruit again, sinking her sharp fangs into its surface. Her eyes watered slightly, slowly becoming unable to stand its terrible taste. She removed her fangs and stared at the fruit, rotating it with her claws. "Oh, I see. Well, my experience with my older twin has been a bit… rough, to say the least. If you couldn't tell, she's quite the sadistic type, hm? I really hate her," she said as she tossed the fruit in her hand up and down.

"W-Was… was she always like that?" Ayame asked, curious.

The demon looked at the fruit intently, as if she was having a staring contest with it. "Nope. She was a pretty good demon when she was young and there were other demons aside from us. She had this goal of becoming the strongest demon ever, you see? And when the hunters came and started killing all the demons… it got out of hand. She needed to prove herself to the others, yes? So she killed all the humans she could in sadistic ways," explained Sayuri. She tossed the fruit behind her back, having had enough with it.

Ayame's eyes widened. "That sounds a lot like… sort of like what I'm trying to do," she realized.

Sayuri tilted her head to the side. "Ah, that reminds me. What have you come looking for my sister for? I heard something about avenging your father. I wasn't paying too much attention, though. After all, you were trying to kill me," she replied. She began to lick the sticky juices that covered her hand from the fruit she had been eating off of her hand with her tongue, still not liking the taste one bit.

Ayame sighed. Where was she to start? "Well, as you probably already know, Madoka has been terrorizing our village for such a long time. She keeps killing all these people just for fun. And it's gotten to the point where things are getting terrible. We are running out of people to fight. Our leader, Kimiyoshi Toshi, does not know the first thing about leading the village. He's sending out all these inexperience people to fight Madoka instead of having someone with some actual experience come to fight her. Not only that, but he refuses to give them a proper burial. He's so power obsessed that he's ignoring any suggestions anyone makes simply because he has more power than them. I'm a part of the Sonozaki family, one of the Great Three Families of Onifaguchi and the lowest ranking of them. We're sick and tired of being picked on by the Kimiyoshi family… so we came here to stop the demon to put an end to all the terror and claim pride and power for the Sonozaki family," she explained, making sure that she kept every detail in. "My father went to kill Madoka, but he died. So I'm here to avenge him…. And claim the power we need," she finished.

Sayuri blinked as she took in the information. A long pause of complete silence followed in which Sayuri did nothing but look at the ground in deep thought while Ayame stared at her blankly. A minute passed. Two minutes passed. Three minutes passed. Ayame was beginning to get a little impatient. What was the demon thinking about so hard?

Finally, as if she had waited an eternity, Sayuri spoke. "I could give you the power you seek."

Ayame's eyes widened. "W-Wait, what do you mean?" she asked.

Sayuri looked up at the human, smiling. "I said, I could give you the power you seek in order to destroy my sister and take pride for your family."

Ayame was confused, to say the very least. "Y-You don't get it! I'm getting power from killing Madoka, not for killing Madoka!" she protested, waving her arms frantically.

The demon sighed. "No, in order to gain power from killing my sister, you need power. You see… my sister is very strong indeed. No human could possibly kill her unless they have brutal strength. Back in the days when your village was hunting us down, she killed the leader of the group. She was the strongest fighter I have ever seen in my life. Yet, my sister managed to kill her after a long fight. I think she was a Furude? In any case, you'd need more power if you wanted to stand a chance against my sister," she explained to the green-haired woman seated in front of her.

"H-How! How do I get power? Tell me!" Ayame demanded, desperate.

Sayuri began to draw patterns in the dirt with her finger. "You'd have to absorb me," she told her.

"A-Absorb?" Ayame repeated.

Sayuri nodded. "Yeah, that's right. Absorb. You see, by doing that, you can gain my demonic strength to take Madoka down. You could even absorb her if you wanted," she explained to the girl. "It would be more than enough to kill my sister."

Confusion flooded through the Sonozaki. "Wait a moment, if I were to absorb your powers in, what would that make me?"

A pause. "…You'd become a demon," Sayuri answered.

A horrified look spread across Ayame's face. "A d-demon?" she repeated. No way did she want to become something like that. Sayuri looked distorted with her ugly claws stuck to her fingers and sharp fangs hanging down from her mouth. It was quite unbearable for the human eye to look at.

Sayuri sensed the Sonozaki's exact thoughts and laughed. "No no no! It's quite complicated, but I can explain. I'm sure your horrified about the claws and the fangs and such, yes? Well demons actually resemble humans quite a bit, as you can see. But this is truly not the case. A demon is born in a human form, but we actually have something called our true form. It's what we really are. Our true forms resemble something closer to animals rather than humans. When our sanity level takes a dip for any reason, we begin to transform into our true forms as fast as our sanity drops. For example, if someone is maddened by the idea of gaining power they might lose their sanity. That's where the claws and fangs come from."

"I don't understand. Isn't the goal of Madoka enough to make me gain those features? I mean, since I'm pretty much set on killing her," she questioned.

"No, no. You're not maddened by the idea of killing Madoka, are you? It's not like something you are absolutely _desperate_ to do beyond anything else in the world," she spoke. "Besides, a demon turns back into its human form when it's gotten rid of or solved what caused it to go it insane." Ayame titled her head to the side. Sayuri let out a sigh. "Oh my, I'm not explaining this to well, am I? Let me give you an example. I've been slowly turning into my true form because I've wanted to destroy my sister for _ages. _You see how I have claws and fangs?It's a goal that simply maddens me. The goal to do so is stronger than the need to eat or even to _breath,_" she said. "It's making my sanity disappear slowly…"

"Well, the goal to kill Madoka is pretty strong for me," muttered Ayame.

The demon looked at her in the eyes. "Is the goal to kill Madoka to you simply _maddening_? Do you _have_ to kill Madoka? Is it something that has been angering you more than _anything_ else in the whole world? Is the need to kill Madoka even stronger than the need to _breath_? Do you feel like you'd do _anything_ and sacrifice _anyone_ to achieve it? Do you feel a part of your sanity _dying_ because of it?" she questioned.

Ayame felt overloaded by the amount of questions that suddenly had been shot at her. "E-Er… I guess it's not _that_ strong," she murmured.

Sayuri laughed. "Yeah, I figured it wasn't. So are we good on the deal?" she asked her.

"Two questions," she spoke. "First, what would happen to you?"

"I'd be a part of your body forever. There would be no more me," Sayuri answered.

Ayame nodded. "Okay, here's the second question. Would the rest of the Sonozaki clan after me be demons?" she asked.

Sayuri shook her head. "Nope. Just you." Ayame nodded with understanding. "Oh, wait! I forgot! Yes, there would be. Under one condition," she said.

"Well, what's the condition?"

Sayuri told Ayame the condition, causing Ayame's eyes to widen. "That's the one condition. Otherwise, nope! Just make sure it doesn't happen, okay?" she spoke, giving her a smile. It was strange to see a demon smile at her, Ayame thought, because they had always seemed like such terrible creatures to her. Was Sayuri really just being nice to her, or perhaps was she trying to manipulate her into doing something?

"Why? Why are you giving me this choice?" asked the Sonozaki. She needed to clear up the suspicions, and fast. The sun was beginning to disappear and soon the deadline to meet with Madoka would come.

"Well, why do you think? I've told you that the need to kill my sister is so strong that it's maddening. Back when there were more demons, I was always outclassed by her. Everyone thought she was so much better than me. So now, I need to kill her so that I could finally become someone better than her," she told her, flexing her claws. "And if I give you this power, you'll be able to do it. We're both helping ourselves."

Ayame nodded. "Then, with that, I accept your conditions. I will kill Madoka from you, and in return, I will take your power," she spoke, confidence in her voice. Now, she was sure that this was the right thing to do.

Sayuri grinned. She stood up from the ground and walked forward towards the girl. She took her hands and pulled her up so that they were at the same height. Ice blue eyes met emeralds green ones as they held each other's hands together tightly. Under her breath, Sayuri began to mutter things in a language that Ayame could not understand. Suddenly, she felt a strange mental link connect the two of them together like a rope. She could feel immense amounts of power beginning to flow down that mental link and into her very body. It was almost unbearable, really. Ayame resisted the urge to cry out from the pure shock of how odd the feeling was. Slowly, the power she was receiving through the link began to grow smaller and smaller until she could only feel weak amounts seeping into her. Sayuri's body began to turn transparent as if it were just a ghost of her.

"Remember this, Ayame," the demon spoke. "With great power comes great responsibility… and great insanity."

With those words, Sayuri's form faded away from existence. Ayame felt the warmth that held her hands slip away until she could only feel the heat from the summer air on it as if she had never been holding onto it at all.

Ayame blinked at where the demon had once been standing. She wasn't sure what to do, now. According to Madoka, she was now a demon. Yet, she didn't _feel_ any different than before. She still felt as if she was a human.

When she looked into the sky, she noticed that the sun had gone down. Now, a gradient of pink and yellow stained the usually blue sky. She had to get going. Madoka was waiting for her.

Turning around, the demon Ayame continued on her way through the forest. The thick trees continued on for what seemed like an eternity, never once leaving a single space for rest. That one spot she and Sayuri had talked at had been the last area where there was actually any room for one to talk. Yet, for some reason, she felt as if she could easily get through the trees now. With a push of her hands, a tree would come close to falling over completely. Her new demonic strength was quite impressive. It even surprised her.

Soon, she came to a clearing. There was an area in the shape of a circle completely barren of trees. The whole ground was covered in thick coating of brown, soft dirt. It almost seemed like sand to the green-haired Sonozaki. She took a few steps into the circle before she noticed some other footprints embedded into the soft dirt. They were normal footprints of a human, much bigger than her own feet. Taking a few more steps, she noticed massive amounts of crimson red blood staining the soft brown dirt. Around the spot where the blood dyed the brown dirt, she could see another pair of footsteps besides the ones she had spotted before. These footprints were much smaller, but there was also something very strange about them. There seemed to be something like claws at the end of each toe. At that moment, she realized. Madoka had most certainly killed someone here. The only person who ever went this far in a few months was her father. Was it possible that this blood belonged to none other than her own father?

Gulping, Ayame walked right through the bloody mess and back into the forest. After making her way through several trees, Ayame heard the sound of rushing water coming from nearby. Curiously, she changed her direction and pushed her way through the many trees that separated her from that sound.

As expected, Ayame found herself at a shallow river. Rocks were scattered underneath the water and around the river itself. Trees lined the area covered with rocks but did not intrude on it. Strangely, some trees had weird marks on them. One of them had been slashed open with what seemed like a very sharp object.

But then, she spotted something else that caught her eye. Sitting by the river's edge a few feet away from her was her father's glistening katana, stained slightly by red blood. The Sonozaki let out a gasp as she ran forward to pick up the weapon. Quickly, she dipped it in the running stream to wash off the blood that painted the blade. Her father must have lost it, or perhaps Madoka had stolen it from him. The fact that blood covered it must have meant that her father managed to get a good blow to Madoka before he had lost the fight and died.

_I'll use this. Even if I said I wasn't confident on my skills, it might come in handy anyway, _Ayame decided. She rested the large sword on her shoulder and took a deep breath. As practice, Ayame slashed the sword through the air. Her skills were still a little rusty, but now that she had gained demonic strength, she figured it should be enough.

With that, Ayame left the river and continued on her way through the forest. She was supposed to meet Madoka at a meadow filled with flowers just past the clearing. Yet, to her, it didn't seem as if the meadow was _just_ past the clearing. She had been walking for quite a bit since she had passed the clearing and there seemed to be no sign of the meadow even appearing. Then again, it was impossible for her to see past all the trees that seemed to cover every inch of the ground.

Several minutes later, she reached the end of the trees. And sure enough, there was a meadow filled with flowers of every kind right in front of her. The flowers ranged from being very small to giant, and the colors that decorated the meadow were about every color from red to purple on the rainbow. Not only that, but as promised, Madoka was sitting right in the middle of the field with her eyes closed. She said with her legs crossed, breathing heavily.

"Hello, Ayame," the demon spoke, sensing the presence of the Sonozaki. "I have been waiting for you for quite a while," it growled angrily.

"Forgive me, I got sidetracked," muttered Ayame.

Madoka opened up her icy-blue eyes and looked right into the green eyes of the Sonozaki in front of her. Instantly, she frowned. "What is this?" she snapped, "you've changed!"

At first, Ayame was a little confused as to the meaning of the demon's words. It took her a bit to realize that she was referring to the fact that she was now a demon due to absorbing Sayuri. "Yes, I have changed. I met your twin sister in the forest. Her name is Sayuri, yes? She allowed me to absorb her and all of her powers on the one condition that I kill you," she informed the demon.

Madoka looked extremely upset. Perhaps she had been expecting an easy fight. But now that Ayame had demonic strength and powers, she'd have to put up a good fight in order to kill her. "Fine, then. So be it. I'll kill you anyways," she grumbled bitterly. She stood up on her two feet before she reached for something behind her back. "Your father had a strong katana. That got me thinking," she spoke as she drew out a glistening, silver katana from behind her back. "I remember that there was a katana one of my ancestors used. She absorbed the spirits of many demons into this katana. So I went back to go search for it. And look, I found it!"

_The spirits of many demons…? What is that supposed to mean? _Ayame wondered. Perhaps it meant that the sword was extra powerful. A katana on it's own was extremely dangerous. It had the strength to cut through almost _anything_. That was why her father had practiced so long and hard to master the use of the katana.

Madoka raised the sword, showing it off with pride. "This sword is as evil as all the demon spirits contained in it. Do you think that you can beat me?" she questioned.

Ayame nodded. "Bring it on."

And with that, the fighting began. Ayame made the first move and lunged forward with her father's katana towards the demon. Madoka threw her body backwards and hit the blade of the katana with her own. The two of them jumped further backwards as the hard steel clashed together, making a rather unpleasant metallic sound. Ayame held her sword out so that it was pressed against the neck of the other demon. No matter how strong a demon was, it would most certainly die if its head was cut off or if its heart was pierced. However, she hesitated for too long and Madoka managed to move out of the way before she sent the killing blow out. Madoka then slashed her own katana through the air. Ayame made a move to duck out of the way, but missed by a little bit. The katana's blade dug into her shoulder slightly, causing her to cry out in pain.

Madoka smirked, removing the katana from her shoulder. "What's the matter, Ayame? Can't take a little pain like that?" she taunted.

Ayame growled. She held her katana up and lashed for the demon's shoulder. Surprised at such a sudden movement, Madoka didn't have enough time to move and her own shoulder was slashed open. Madoka removed a hand from the great sword's hilt and used it to clutch her shoulder, blood pouring out of it and staining the snow-white fabric of her kimono.

Madoka attempted to send a blow to the Sonozaki head's chest, but this time Ayame knew exactly what to do. She threw the top-half of her body backwards so that the blade just missed her chest and instead cut through the summer air that filled the meadow. Frustrated, Madoka attempted to send another blow to her stomach but only managed to skim it with the blade. It caused her to bleed quite a bit, but not enough for the demon's liking. She needed to see more blood pour out like a waterfall. She needed to see _rivers_ of blood. The demon aimed her katana at the girl's feet. Ayame jumped up as high in the air as she could so that the katana ran just beneath her, cutting the blades of grass coating the ground. At this point, Madoka was beginning to get a little annoyed. She recklessly swung her katana around, missing once again. As her frustration grew, the accuracy of her cuts decreased. Now, she was just swinging her katana over and over again with hope that it would cut Ayame on some part of her body. Ayame avoided her swings, only getting grazed by the blade every here and there. When she found an opportunity, Ayame slashed her katana down to cut the demon's chest and stomach.

"Why you little!" growled Madoka. Not only was she growing frustrated, but also her anger was slowly building to the point where she felt as if she was going to blow up. She swung her katana again; cutting Ayame's other shoulder. She smirked at the satisfaction of having finally hit the girl, but quickly grew more frustrated as her next few swings missed.

"That does it!" screamed Madoka. Slowly, her claws began to elongate and so did her fangs. Ayame couldn't bear to watch the sight in front of her. Her skin began to change to a deep red and she began to grow much, much bigger. Ayame covered her eyes. The demon in front of her was changing into her true form.

The katana she was holding dropped to the floor as her maddened laughter grew louder and louder. Ayame opened her eyes slowly. In front of her stood something that did not resemble a human in the slightest, nor did it even resemble the demons from Onifaguchi history. The demon in front of her looked more like an animal than anything else. She had the body of a wolf with a mane the color of her human form's hair running down from her head to the tip of her tail. Her head seemed to resemble some kind of reptile with large, pointy fangs hanging down from her mouth along with two white horns sticking out from the top of her head. Her four feet were long and fat. She had claws at the ends of each of her feet, sharper than a knife. She cackled at the horrified expression that was worn by the girl standing in front of her. She was not too much bigger than her in term of height when she stood on four legs. Not only that, but she also had a long tail extending from her back and reaching down to the floor.

"Are you scared by my true form? Seeing as you absorbed my sister, your true form looks the same. You are not truly a demon, however. You were not born as one. The powers that you were given are powers that belonged to us," she cackled.

Ayame breathed in and out heavily. She couldn't be scared of this demon. Slowly, she picked up Madoka's katana in one of her hands while the other hand held her father's. She held them both at the demon, showing of their sharp blades. She lashed both of them down on the demon at the same time, only to have her jump away. The demon laughed as Ayame tried to slash it once again and missed. She needed to come up with a better strategy besides randomly slashing the sword. Wasn't that the reason why Madoka had gotten so angry in the first place?

She swiped her swords again. The demon quickly jumped out of the way, laughing. As it did so, however, it left it's back exposed. Quickly, Ayame whipped herself around and cut off the demon's tail with one of her katanas. Madoka roared out in pain, turning herself around to pounce on the girl. Ayame stuck her father's katana up in the air, causing it to cut through the demon's belly.

"Why… you little!" screamed Madoka, lunging forward to strike a blow with her claws to the Sonozaki's head. She crossed the blades of her katana together to use as a shield, and it proved to be effective. While the demon was still stunned from her failure to slash Ayame, she sent a blow down on her back with both katanas, creating two parallel wounds running across her back.

Madoka growled at the pain. At this rate, she began to worry a little bit that she'd lose to a mere human turned demon. Recklessly, she charged forward and opened her mouth wide, aiming to bite off the girl's head. Ayame wasn't sure what she should do. Almost automatically, she stuck one of her swords out and closed her eyes, hoping for the best. Luckily, this caused the katana to cut the inside of the demon's throat, sending blood water falling down from her throat and into her stomach.

In a rage, Madoka slashed her claws at Ayame. The claws dug into her skin and she cried out from the extreme amount of pain. It was like having several giant spears scrape against you all at once. The two enemies had a period in which none of them did anything but clutch their wounds in pain. Madoka was coughing up extreme amounts of blood while trying to prevent anymore from pouring down into her stomach. It felt sickening, really. The taste of her own blood could not compare to the taste of human blood and flesh.

Then, the two of them ran at each other with intent to kill. Madoka pointed her oversized claws at Ayame and prepared to jab them into her. Ayame held the two katanas and charged forward, intent on cutting the demon up. She slashed downwards at the same time Madoka lunged her claws at her. It was as if the whole world slowed down while they both went for the kill.

There was a moment where nether of them knew what had happened. Suddenly, Ayame felt a sharp pain throughout her body. The demon's claws had scratched from her chest to her stomach. Blood trickled down from the wounds and dripped down to the grassy ground. Like dew, drops of blood fell from the tip of blades of grass and splattered. But, at the same time, Ayame's katanas had successfully slashed the demon's front arms off. She was now lying there, unable to move with her last two feet. Ayame felt herself slowly growing weaker and weaker. Yet, she was so close to finishing Madoka off. She couldn't die there!

Ayame turned around, holding both katanas in her arms. With just another swipe, she could finish this off once and for all. She slowly limped forward to the demon, who had an expression of annoyance and defeat on her face. She slowly brought one of the katanas upwards and chopped down on the demon's neck. Her head fell to the ground in a pile of crimson blood, staining the peacefully green meadows.

The demon was dead.

~~~~X~~~~

Ayame had finished walking down the mountains and was now back in Onifaguchi. As a demon, her wounds had healed up after about an hour of resting beside a tree. She was holding the bloodstained kimono of Madoka as proof that she had actually managed to kill such a terrifying creature. She made her way back through all the thick trees that coated the grounds just beyond the shrine, having gotten used to them after traveling through them for such a long time.

She eventually passed by the tree and the Furude Shrine, and soon enough she was back on the paths on Onifaguchi. She remembered having walked them a few hours ago and having thought that it might be her very last time ever seeing those paths again. Now, she knew that she would probably be seeing them a thousand more times before she died. She smiled at that thought. She felt more pride than she had ever felt before in her whole life. Now, she had given the Sonozaki family some pride _and_ she had managed to avenge her father.

It wasn't long until she reached the Sonozaki Manor. Slowly, she opened the door and stepped back inside. At that moment, it felt extremely nice to be home. At the same time, it felt as if she hadn't been in her house for ages. "Hana! I'm home!" she cried out.

The moment those words left her mouth, she heard scrambling coming from the hallway. Her sister appeared in front of her in a matter of seconds with wide green eyes. "Sis! You're alive!" she cried out.

"Yeah, I'm alive. I managed to kill Madoka and-" she began to explain.

She was cut off, however, by the tight embrace of her sister. "I was so worried about you, sis! I thought you were going to die!" she sobbed. Tears began to fall from her eyes and stained the shoulder of her sister. Blood, tears, and the fabric of Ayame's kimono mixed together. Her outfit was now a complete mess.

"Yeah, I'm back," she murmured, hugging her sister back. The two of them stood there in each other's embrace for a while, not paying attention to anything else besides each other.

After what seemed like a forever, the two of them pulled away from each other. Their identical green eyes met and identical smiles appeared on their faces. "I'm going to go to Kimiyoshi's house and announce that I have killed Madoka once and for all. I can't wait to see the look on his face," Ayame said, picturing the village leader's shocked expression. Satisfaction rose up inside of her at the very thought of that man finally getting what he deserved.

Hana nodded. "Mhm. Just come back safe, okay? For some reason, I worry more about you going up against Kimiyoshi than you going up against Madoka. That man is quite the scary one," she spoke.

"I promise I'll be safe," Ayame answered.

~~~~X~~~~

Ayame was now outside of the Kimiyoshi Manor, ready to knock on the door. In one hand, she held her father's katana. In the other, she held the bloodstained kimono of Madoka. She had left the other katana that had been said to have absorbed the spirits of thousands of demons back at home back in the dojo in case she ever needed it again. At the same time, however, she doubted she would.

The house in front of her was much bigger than her own. While in the current time, the Sonozaki Manor was much bigger than the Kimiyoshi one, back then the Kimiyoshi house was at least ten times bigger, representing the amount of power they had back then. She had been invite inside the Kimiyoshi manor several times before and had been shocked at how much bigger it was compared to her own house.

Slowly, she brought her balled fist to the door and knocked on it. She tore it away, waiting for an answer from Toshi. Grumbling could be heard as footsteps approached the door and opened it. A look of anger painted Toshi's face as he noticed exactly who was there. "Oh, you," he mumbled. "What have you come here for, Sonozaki?"

"It would be nice if we could speak inside," she spoke, hiding the kimono and katana behind her back.

Toshi sighed. "Fine then, come in," he growled, holding the door open so that the Sonozaki could step inside. She did so gladly. Thoughts of how she would break the news to the village leader filled her head. She wanted to do it in a way that would make him so shocked that the image would burn in her head for years to come. He led her down the very well decorated halls and into the kitchen.

Though she only was able to get a few quick glances, Ayame quickly noticed that the Kimiyoshi manor was very well furnished. They had many old paintings covering the walls as well as antique pottery set up down the length of the hall. He had placed it there so that everyone would know just how rich the Kimiyoshi family was just from taking a few steps inside.

She sat down at the table with Toshi sitting opposite from her. "Well, what do you want, Sonozaki? Speak! My son is waiting for me at the Furude Shrine and I cannot be late," he snapped.

For once, Ayame didn't feel pressured to answer him. Slowly, she pulled out the white kimono splattered with crimson blood and laid it out in front of him on the table. "Toshi, tell me, do you know whose kimono this is?" she questioned him.

Toshi narrowed his eyes as he gave the kimono a puzzled look. At first, he felt unamused. Was Ayame trying to play some stupid trick on him? Then, he took a closer look. He had seen this kimono somewhere before. Realization hit him hard as an expression of pure shock and horror appeared on his face. Ayame tried to hold back a laugh at the sight of her village leader so shocked. It was extremely amusing. "This is… that demon's kimono!" he yelled out.

Ayame nodded, smirking. "That's right, Toshi. I killed the demon all by myself, and this is proof of it," she informed him, her arms crossed in pure satisfaction.

"Impossible! How could a Sonozaki like you pull off something like this?" he yelled out. Thank gosh no one else was in the house, otherwise Ayame was sure that they would have heard his loud, outraged voice from every corner.

"Us Sonozaki family members are not as weak as you take us to be. Just because we are lower in power than you does not mean that we are weaker in fighting. Perhaps it's about time that you gave us a little more power," she spoke, seriousness in her tone. She knew that this method probably wasn't going to work, but it was work a try.

Toshi banged one of his fists down on the table, causing a wave of shaking to pulse through it. "No way! The Kimiyoshi family will never give the Sonozaki family any form of more power! You must learn to understand your place as Sonozakis! What were you crowned a great family for, anyways? Sometimes, I find myself wondering why I don't just demote you to a normal family!" he yelled at the Sonozaki, not even giving a single thought on the subject. Ayame was right. It would be impossible to convince this guy to give them more power.

Ayame raised an eyebrow. "Well, what if I showed this kimono to the villagers and announced that I was the one who killed Madoka? They'd surely gain more respect for me, wouldn't they?" she spoke, her tone sounding threatening.

Toshi looked down at the bloodstained fabric splayed across his table. "About that, I'll be taking that now," he spoke, placing a hand on the soft fabric of the kimono and drawing it closer to him.

"Excuse me?"

Toshi held up the kimono in front of him, admiring it. "I'll show this to the whole village and tell them that _I_ was the one who killed Madoka. Then, they'd never believe you if you said that you were the one to kill you. After all, they all agree that we're more powerful than you are, hm?" he spoke.

Anger rose up inside Ayame. Anger stronger than any emotion she had ever felt before in all twenty years that she had lived. "What the hell! Kimiyoshi, its time you realize that you are not a leader fit to lead Onifaguchi. All of your plans have so many flaws that it would take me months just to point all of them out! First of all, you were basically just killing off everyone in the village by sending them out to kill the demon! You didn't even give them a choice!" she snapped at him, letting every single bit of her rage show in her voice.

"I did give them a chance!" yelled Toshi back, "the ones that didn't want to do it I didn't make them do it! Everyone who was on the team said that they were willing to go after the demon! If they didn't want to, I let them go!"

Ayame raised one of her green eyebrows at him. She crossed her arms and looked at him sternly in the face. "Then, why did you kill that man who didn't want to fight the demon last night?"

For a brief moment, a look of horror appeared on Toshi's face. Then, he wiped that away and replaced it with a look of faux-confusion. "Huh? What are you talking about? I have never killed a villager! Never!" he said back.

Ayame smirked. "Well then, what was going on last night? Me and Tatsu-chan saw you murder a man who didn't want to go fight the demon," she said to him, triumph and having pinpointed him in her voice.

Toshi realized there was no point in trying to argue with him. He had killed a man, and Ayame knew about it. He cursed himself for letting something like that happen. He had been sure at the time that there was no one there save for himself and that man that he had killed. "So what if I did? He wouldn't stand for his village!"

"So you admit it!" yelled Ayame

"Yes, I admit it! I killed him with my own two hands!" he yelled back.

Silence followed for a few seconds. "Well then, how about if I just tell the villagers?" she spoke, taunting him with such a horrifying idea.

"They'd never believe you!" he yelled back.

"How would _you_ know?"

"Because I'm their leader!" Toshi spoke. He tried to make himself sound as if the idea of villagers believing that he had actually murdered someone was ridiculous, but Ayame was able to sense a small amount of fear in his voice. He knew very well that if she were to tell him, the villagers would probably believe her. After all, he also knew well that no one in the village actually liked him.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that if I were you," Ayame said. "In fact, I'm going to go tell all the villagers right now! Good bye!" she spoke. Then, she walked out of the room, a smirk plastered across her face. She began to march down the hallways, not paying one bit of attention to all the rare items that lined it. Soon, the Sonozaki Manor would be like this. Now that she had killed the demon, it would bring enough pride to the Sonozaki family that they would gain more power. More power meant that they would gain more money and a bigger house. Soon, everything was going to get better for her family.

"Wait a moment!" a voice called out to her.

She turned around to meet the desperate face of the village leader standing a few feet away from her. In his hand, he clutched Madoka's kimono. "…Let's make a deal, alright? I'll let you announce that you killed the demon in front of everyone and I'll even confirm it if you promise not to tell a soul about me killing the men," he said to her.

In Ayame's mind, this seemed like a fair deal. The Sonozaki family would get the power they longed for and the Kimiyoshi family would still have their power. After all, her goal from the beginning was to bring power to the Sonozaki family, not to make the Kimiyoshi family lose power. "It's a deal."

~~~~X~~~~

Toshi had called the whole village to a giant meeting in front of the Furude Shrine. All of the villagers of Onifaguchi were looking up at the giant shrine and the people who stood in front of it; murmuring to each other guesses about what was going to be announced. In front of the Furude Shrine were the heads of the Furude family, the Sonozaki family, and the Kimiyoshi family. Toshi stood in the center while Ayame stood on the right side, leaving Takara to stand on his left. Behind Ayame, she held the bloodstained kimono. She didn't want to show it off just yet.

"Everyone, I want to tell you something very important," he spoke, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He clearly looked like he was saying something that he did not want to. "I'd like to inform you all that Sonozaki Ayame has killed Madoka…"

At first, the villagers didn't believe it. Then, Ayame held up the kimono for all of them to see. At that very moment, their eyes widened with happiness and cheers flooded the air. Toshi's cries for the villagers to calm down were drowned out by all the chanting of Ayame's name and went unheard by everyone other than Takara, who was giving him an annoyed look.

"Ayame! Ayame!" the villagers cried out over and over again. Now, none of them would ever have to fear that demon ever again. She was gone for good. Onifaguchi could return to its peaceful state once again.

Ayame felt extremely proud of herself. She had finally gotten the Sonozaki family some attention. Not only that, but she had a feeling of happiness for what was to come next. Now that she had confessed her love to the boy she had her eyes on for ages, she could start a new life with him. Everything was about to change for her and the Sonozaki family.

But through all her pride, she had forgotten Sayuri's last words to her.

_"With great power comes great responsibility… and madness."_

~~~~X~~~~

**Crimso's Corner**

**Phew! Would you look at that? Thirteen thousand words! Now, does this make up for that two thousand word long chapter? It's actually the second longest chapter. Envy is still the longest and I bet you it will probably stay the longest. This one, however, tops Return to Hinamizawa by three thousand words! Can you believe it? Actually, ignore that. It's quite easy to believe. I wonder how many pages this fanfiction would be if I pasted it all on one document? That would be interesting to see. For some reason, the chapters look so much longer on the word document. When I put them on fanfiction, they look tiny D:.**

**Now, I'm going to say something important, so listen up. If you were confused at all by anything that happened in this chapter, shoot me a message NOW and I'll clear it all up for you. I tried to explain things as best as I could, but sometimes it just doesn't work out. And if it's about the condition, no, I'm not telling you. Sorry guys. You will wait and see. I will also obviously not answer any questions such as "what happens at the end of the fanfiction?" I bet you all assumed that though, anyways :P.**

**The next part is the final part of the Ayame chapters. After that, we'll be returning to our friends Mion and Keiichi. And Etsuko, but I don't think she's our friend. By the way, I might take a while to get it up. I'm having a crisis with my grades and with my friends so I might not be able to write for a bit. Actually, don't quote me on that. I've said that a thousand times before and it's never taken me longer than a week to upload a new chapter. **

**As always, please leave me a review. And as I said before, message me if you have any confusion. We need to get that cleared up, hm? The reward for reviewing this chapter, by the way, is a room in the five star Crimso Hotel in Crimso Land! We promise you only the best comfort! You may also bring a friend along with you. The rooms are quite large… so do not fear! I don't see why you would though. Er… maybe you would. I don't know. In any case, please review. They make me happy and they make me update much faster. **

**Out.**

**~Crimso **

**P.S: I see you all like the bold font, so I kept it. I didn't write that back in the previous chapter because I forgot.**


	23. Chapter 22: Book Seventeen III

**Hey readers. I'm in math class right now and I just finished taking our test. We have one every two weeks on Thursdays. Sigh. I usually do well… but now, I feel as if I did terrible. Great. Plus, I didn't get any sleep last night. I feel like every time I ask my dad to explain something he makes it even worse. There's that and my friends are having issues. My two best friends suddenly decided to like… beat each other up and hate each other. What the hell. Well, that's my current story. I think math class is going to end soon…**

**Yeah, that's all I got to write in Math class. I'm in history right now. Gahahaha… I dissected a sheep brain in science today. It was awesome. Don't ask why I write this stuff down, it's for my own personal record. I like looking back and knowing what I was doing when I was writing the chapter. It just seems cool to me.**

**Moving on, Chapter twenty-two! Awesome, man. I hope you enjoy, as usual.**

~~~~X~~~~

**A few years later…**

Two figures sat in the main room of the Sonozaki Manor. It was noticeably bigger now, but not as big as in the current times. The first figure was of Sonozaki Ayame, now around thirty-seven years old. She was sitting on a decorative cushion made with the finest fabric and stuffed with care. Across from her sat a teenage girl with long, green hair and lilac eyes. She watched as the woman in front of her talked on and on seemingly without end. She had been talking for about an hour now, maybe even two hours.

"Yup! That's how it ended! I killed the demon and we finally got some respect," Ayame laughed, recalling the fond memories of receiving attention from the village after killing Madoka. It had been seventeen years since she had killed her. In that time, the Sonozaki family managed to gain some more respect from the Onifaguchi villagers as well as some pride for themselves.

The teenage girl blinked. "Wow, that's pretty cool. You just took out the demon that killed grandfather just like that?" she spoke, amazed by the tale Ayame was telling her.

Ayame nodded. "Yup! It was just luck, I guess," she said. Of course, this was a complete and utter lie. Whenever someone asked her about how she had killed Madoka, she spoke nothing about Sayuri or becoming a demon. She made it sound as if she was five times more heroic by removing that one part of the tale. Killing a demon was almost impossible for a human.

The green-haired teenager tilted her head to the side. "And you didn't get hurt at all, mom?" she asked.

Ayame shook her head. "No, I got hurt alright. It's not like I'm invincible or anything," she spoke. She then reached for a cup of tea that was placed next to her and took a huge gulp, almost draining half the sweet liquid inside the cup. She put it down and wiped away whatever liquid clinging to her lips with her sleeve. "I got this really severe injury on my shoulder as well as a gash going down from my chest to my stomach," she explained.

"And yet, you still lived…" the girl muttered in complete awe, not aware of her mother's demonic nature.

Ayame smiled. "I went through a lot for this family. I guess I just had the determination to live. After all, I had to come back for my sister and your father," she said. "I did vow to your father that I'd come back, so it would be terrible of me to break that promise, hm?"

The teenager looked away, embarrassed. "Mom, please don't talk about you and father's romantic moments. It's awkward to think about…" she murmured, a pink blush spreading across her face as she thought of her parents engaging in romantic acts.

The Sonozaki head took this as the perfect opportunity to tease her daughter. It was rather fun to do every once in a while since romantic matters flustered her so easily. "Oh come on! One day, you will find the one perfect for you, too! And then, you'll have a thousand babies and-" Ayame joked before a punch to the head cut her off.

"I-I told you not to bring up such matters!" snapped the girl, averting her lilac eyes from her mother's gaze.

A playful smirk appeared on Ayame's face. "Oh, is there some boy you like? Come on, Rion! You can tell your mother everything!"

"There's no one!" her daughter snapped.

Before her mother could tease her anymore, however, a voice interrupted them. "Huh, what are you two being so loud about?" commented Tatsuya as he wandered into the room. His hair was disheveled and his eyes were only partially open. It was clear to both females that he had just woken up. "Man, I was fast asleep and then I heard you guys yelling…"

"Tatsu-chan!"

"Father…"

The silver-haired man glanced from his wife to his daughter, trying to process what was going on. The first thing that he managed to observe through his exhausted eyes, irritated at having been woken up so early, was that his daughter had a very red face. "Er, Rion? Are you sick?"

Their daughter, named Rion, gave him a glare. Though on the inside, she was thankful for her father's ignorance. "No, I'm feeling perfectly fine, thanks. Maybe I caught a bit of a cold," she lied, standing up from the comfort of her cushion. Rion gave her parents one last glance before she walked out of the room and into the hallway, probably heading towards her room. Her father gave her a confused look as she walked past him without even giving him a single look.

"I think she really is sick," sighed Tatsuya, "that's no good. Maybe she has a fever or something. I don't like the smell of barf…"

Ayame sighed, rubbing her temples. "That's the first thing you're concerned about, Tatsu-chan?" she murmured. "First of all, no, she's not sick. I was just teasing her a little bit. Second of all, I'd be more concerned for Rion's wellbeing if she was sick. Not the house smelling bad."

Tatsuya scratched his head. "Oh, I wasn't thinking," he spoke. Tatsuya had matured slightly over the past through years, deciding that he needed to act a little less like a flirt now that he had a wife and daughter. However, on the inside, he was still very childish. Sometimes, he would not think over things he spoke and always ended up coming off as some kind of idiot.

Ayame smiled. She did find her husband childish at times, but in truth, she didn't care. After all, he was just a child when they fell in love. It reminded her of the times they had together when they were very, very young. Looking back, she realized that she missed those times. It was nice when she was just a child, playing with him and her twin sister in the garden of the Sonozaki Manor…

She shook the memories out of her head. No, she couldn't keep thinking about the past. It was time that she moved on. After all, things were much better now.

Tatsuya sat himself on the cushion his daughter had been sitting on before she stormed out of the room. He smiled at his wife, showing off his white teeth. "What are you thinking about Ayame?" he asked.

"Oh, I was just thinking about the past is all. No reason to think about it," she muttered, taking another sip of her tea that had gone forgotten by her.

The silver-haired man titled his head to the side. "Why were you thinking about that?"

Ayame put the cup down on the wooden floor, having almost finished it. "I was just thinking about how you haven't changed much."

A small pout appeared on his face. "I take much offense to that, Ayame!" he replied, crossing his arms stubbornly.

She giggled. "No, Tatsu-chan. That's not a bad thing. Never change for me, okay~?" she spoke, playfully hugging him around the shoulders.

Tatsuya laughed, happily returning his wife's embrace. "Of course not, Ayame! I, Sonozaki Tatsuya, the husband of Sonozaki Ayame, will never change!"

Ayame smiled, pulling herself away from the silver-haired man that she called her husband. "Of course, things have changed. Just not you. I mean, just look at this place! Do you remember what it used to look like?" she asked him, gesticulating to the house that stood around them and engulfed them. "It was some shabby old place. I remember my father used to joke about how he thought Kimiyoshi Toshi's closet was bigger than this whole manor!" she spoke, laughing at the thought of her father's jokes. Even after seventeen years, she had never gotten over the death of her father. The memory still lurked in the back of her mind, almost becoming invisible underneath her love for Tatsuya and Rion.

Tatsuya laughed along with his wife. "Yup~! Now we got all these pretty pieces of art everywhere! They're almost as pretty as you," he spoke, caressing the Sonozaki head's green hair with long strokes. Well, perhaps his flirtatious attitude had been retained just a little.

"Aw, you're so sweet, Tatsu-chan," she spoke, smiling at the feel of his hands running through her soft strands of hair. "Yes, the art is really pretty, isn't it? I spent a whole bunch of money on it."

Lining the room and the hallways were pottery and paintings of all different kinds. Of course, she had been sure to only buy the finest and rarest forms of art. Each one of them was crafted by only the best of artists that inhabited Japan. She displayed each and every item in pure sight so that everyone who entered could admire the wealth of the Sonozaki family.

"Showing off a little, eh?" Tatsuya commented as he saw his wife's gaze focus on the many piece of art.

She nodded. "I thought I'd let anyone who entered know which of the Three Great Families is the best. After all, I _was_ the one who killed Madoka," she beamed.

Tatsuya smiled. "Of course, that was a great feat."

Ayame focused away from the art to look at her husband. "Of course it was!" she boasted. "No one else could kill that thing, and yet, _I_ did. I'm pretty sure that now, nothing could possibly defeat the Sonozaki Family or me!" she spoke, pride clear in her voice as she spoke.

Perhaps, a little too much pride.

~~~~X~~~~

"No, no, no! That's all wrong!"

Hana dropped the sword she was holding in her hand to give her twin sister a glance. The two of them were in the Sonozaki family dojo, now much bigger than before. In addition to upgrading it in size, Ayame was sure to buy all kinds of swords with practice with. She was currently seated against the wall of the dojo, watching her twin sister attempt to practice with the many swords.

"I give you the most basic sword to use and yet, you still can't pull this off!" snapped Ayame.

Hana looked down, ashamed of herself. "Well, I'm sorry sis. I guess I should have learned to fight with swords earlier? It's just too hard for me to grasp this stuff," she apologized. She bent down to pick up the sword and practiced swinging it once again for warm up. She was trying to cut down a target that Ayame had given her to practice on. Recently, Hana had decided that, as a Sonozaki, she should learn how to fight with swords, too. After all, her niece was learning to do so as well. Although the real reason why was because her sister kept pestering her about it. She claimed that if she didn't, she'd be a disgrace to the Sonozaki family. By no means did Hana want to be known as the Sonozaki who couldn't fight, so she decided to finally take on the challenge after putting it off for _years_.

"No, no, no! You're doing it all wrong again, Hana! You're supposed to swing like _this!_" Ayame scolded her. She stood up and began to pretend she was grasping into a sword and swung it. "Not like _this!_" she said again, swinging the pretend sword the way Hana was.

Hana gave her sister a glance and nodded. She was tired of having trained for such a long time today. She had spent most of the week in the dojo, practicing her swordswoman skills. She let out a large sigh as she whipped the sword in the way her sister had told her to do.

"That's still wrong," grumbled Ayame. "You're hopeless."

Hana glared at her sister with enraged yet tired green eyes. "Excuse me, sis, but I'm not an expert like you are," she growled.

Ayame waved her hand dismissively, not at all taken aback by her sister's angry words. "I'm going to go to the store to get you the stuff you need to cook dinner. Just keep practicing until I get back," she ordered her, standing up and brushing off her kimono. "See ya!"

And with that, her twin sister walked out of the door, leaving her all alone in the dojo. Hana dropped the sword to the ground with a growl. _Practice until you get home… yeah right_.She thought, sitting down. She gave the sword a nudge to push it away from her, disgusted by the sight of it. Couldn't her sister just give her a little respect? So what if she killed Madoka? That didn't mean she had to act like an arrogant bitch.

Just when she thought she could have some time alone, Rion walked into the dojo and spotted her almost instantly. "Er, Aunt? Is there something wrong?" she asked her.

Hana frowned. "I'm tired of practicing all the sword crap," she growled, crossing her arms stubbornly. Rion blinked, walking towards her slowly before sitting next to her. "Your mother is forcing me to learn all this. Not that I mind, really. I wanted to learn this since you were and it would be terrible if I were the only Sonozaki without sword skills. However, she's treating me like crap since I'm not nearly as good as her," she explained.

Rion looked at the abandoned sword that Hana had been using prior to her entrance. It was a rather basic sword that was easy to use for beginners. A sword like this should be easy to master. "I guess it's because you didn't try to learn when you were little? I think it's easier to pick up skills when you're a kid, that way you get better and better at them and have much more experience when you're older," Rion suggested, running her finger down the cold metal though not touching the sharp blade.

Hana nodded with a sigh. "Yeah, that's right. Sis always encouraged me to try to learn how to use a blade but I always brushed it off. I was a lazy person back then. Though back then, it wasn't like she was forcing me to learn nor was she so serious about it," she spoke, tracing patterns on the wooden floor of the dojo.

Rion stared into the blade and looked at her reflection. "Mom wasn't always like this, was she?" she murmured, poking at the image of herself reflected in the silver metal.

Hana shook her head. "Nope. She became so arrogant after she managed to kill Madoka. She's so obsessed with her skills and the Sonozaki family's skill. She thinks that she and the Sonozaki family are the best things that have ever existed," she explained, recalling the days after she had killed Madoka. She had constantly praised herself for doing such a daring thing and complimented how good she was.

"Well, I guess Mom is just proud of herself," Rion commented, brushing a lose strand of hair away from her face. "I don't think that should be a reason for her to be so harsh with you, though."

The older green-haired woman let out another large sigh. "I remember the days when we were little, when she wasn't so arrogant. We'd always play with each other and make a whole bunch of jokes. She never cared about the Sonozaki family's pride before her father died trying to gain it. Now, she's just obsessed with it."

Rion's bangs shadowed her purple eyes. Obviously she hadn't known her mother back then. Her mother always acted so sweet around her, but when she watched her interact with other people, she couldn't help but feel a little shaky about her personality towards them. What she did just seemed a little rude. To regard herself as the strongest in all of Onifaguchi history seemed wrong to her. She even went as far as to make the Sonozaki Manor more elegant to fit the new power of the Sonozaki family. "Yeah, judging by what you've told me, I think that mom has changed for the worst. I don't like people who are arrogant…"

Hana couldn't help but nod in agreement at her niece's words. "Yes, sis has most definitely changed for the worst…"

~~~~X~~~~

The pathways of Onifaguchi were peaceful once again. Farmers worked endlessly on their crops while not having to worry about a sudden demon attack and having to abandon their crops to hide from the demon. Mothers and Fathers could now allow their young children to play outside without the fear of having them being gobbled up by the hungry demon. It seemed as if nothing could possibly go wrong ever again.

Ayame strolled down the dust pathway as she did every day. She, as she had said, was heading towards the shops to pick up some meat so that her sister could cook. Even though her sister was now trying out using sword, Ayame had never once considered learning how to properly cook. She was too concerned with leading the Sonozaki family to even bother herself learning such matters. If her sister could cook for her, then that was enough for her. Besides, her sister was much better at cooking than she could ever be, so why bother? The Sonozaki family was never going to be known for being great chefs.

As she walked down the pathways, many people greeted her. "Hello, Sonozaki Ayame-sama!" they'd say. Someone of them would ask, "how is your husband?" or "how is your daughter doing?" Sometimes, they would even say, "Are you teaching your daughter how to fight like you? You did amazing with that demon back then!"

When people said those things, it made her feel good. Of course, she already knew that she did amazing killing Madoka, who no one else could possibly kill. It was only natural that they'd praise the Sonozaki family. She was doing her best as the head to make the Sonozaki family the best in all of Onifaguchi. Right now, they had surpassed the Kimiyoshi family. Kimiyoshi Toshi was slowly growing older and older and had announced to the village that he'd probably be dying soon. Yet, he couldn't help but feel a little bitter towards the Sonozaki family for stealing away their power. _Served him right for underestimating the Sonozaki family for so many years_.

"Ah, if it isn't Sonozaki Ayame!" called a young woman with short blue hair. "How are you, Sonozaki?"

"Hello there, Furude Kiku!" Ayame greeted. This girl was the current head of the Furude family, as Takara has passed away a few months ago. Her name was Furude Kiku, Furude Takara's daughter. She was a very nice and elegant girl unlike her rather rude and rebellious mother.

Kiku smiled. "How might you be on this beautiful day?" she asked.

"Oh, I'm fine! I just went to pick some stuff up for my sister," she explained. She figured that she'd have enough time for a quick chat. After all, the longer she stayed out, the longer her sister would have to practice her sword skills.

Kiku titled her head to the side. "Oh, are you out shopping? I guess the great Sonozaki Head needs some time shopping, too," she said, smiling sweetly.

"N-No… I'm just buying some food for my sis to cook," she explained, waving her hands frantically.

"Oh," Kiku said. "Well, I guess that makes sense, then. The great Sonozaki Head probably doesn't have any time to do that stuff. Being the Sonozaki Head is probably much more work than being the Furude Head," she spoke; her head still tilted in a way that made her appear incredibly cute. _My god, this girl is like a piece of candy in human form._

She nodded. "Yup! I'm much do busy to do such silly matters," she laughed, rubbing the back of her head. "You know, the Sonozaki Head has a lot of pressure on herself! Like um… there's a lot of pressure. Let's just go with that…"

Kiku nodded. "Well, that's not surprising. You guys are even surpassing the Kimiyoshi Family! It's quite amazing. I'll already admit here and now that you guys have certainly surpassed us," she spoke. Glee filled Ayame as she heard those words. The Sonozakis had surpassed the Furudes.

"Wow, you really mean that?" Ayame asked.

"Of course I mean that! You guys are just too cool!" she said, throwing up her arms to emphasize her words.

Ayame grinned. "Of course we are. We're Sonozakis, after all!" she beamed, puffing out her chest. "Thank you~!"

"No problem!" the blue-haired Furude head spoke, smiling happily.

After that, the two of them went their separate ways. Ayame continued down the normal dusty path, bored. At the same time, she wondered if her sister was training hard. She was probably going to grow really good after all this training, wasn't she? Ayame smiled at the thought. With one more person who was able to fight, they'd be able to grow even stronger and impress the villagers even more.

She eventually reached the small store that sold many vegetables. The vegetables that were sold at the store were vegetables that had been grown by the villagers themselves. Each and every one of the vegetables had been grown with extra care and love. Farming was probably one of the most common hobbies in Onifaguchi along with fighting. However, since almost all of the fighters died when Madoka terrorized the town, farming had dominated over the hobby of fighting with weapons as well as material arts. Not that Ayame minded. That only meant she got more attention since she was one of the few people that could actually fight well with swords and other weapons.

She picked out a few of the vegetables from the selection. She didn't really care about the quality of the food she got. Ayame wasn't the type of person who really cared about the food she ate. She made sure that she ate healthy so she could stay in shape, of course, but otherwise she didn't really care. The food grown in Onifaguchi was almost always high quality, so there wasn't really a reason to look too far into what she was buying.

After buying all the food, she slung the plastic bag over her shoulder and walked out. It was around sunset by now. The gradient of pink and yellow that coated the sky looked almost as if it had been painted with fine strokes from a brush. The sunset almost always reminded her of that day when she had killed Madoka. The demon had told her to meet her at sunset, and that was exactly what she had done.

Ayame took a deep breath of the fresh air. Oh, how she loved the village. It was so peaceful now that there were no demons to disturb their peace.

Well, no demons other than herself.

The fact that she was a demon was something that Ayame didn't think about often. It didn't matter to her, really. After all, removing that one little fact from her tale made herself seem more powerful. Being a demon came with natural strength while being a human did not. She had the strength she had gotten from training along with the strength given to her when she absorbed Sayuri and became a demon. As such, she considered herself to be more powerful than any creature on earth. Yet, even that wasn't enough for her. She needed the whole of the Sonozaki family to be more powerful. Of course, making all of them demons wasn't an option. There was only one way for another demon to be made. And that was…

As such, she couldn't just make all the Sonozaki family members demons. Instead, she had to settle for them to train as best as they could instead. She had already made sure that her daughter had a clear interest in learning how to fight and was now teaching her. She didn't want to be harsh with her daughter, however. Doing so might make her resent her role as the Sonozaki heiress and abandon the idea of making the Sonozaki family great. She couldn't allow for such a thing to happen.

It was at that moment that she bumped into Kimiyoshi Toshi, who was still the head of the Kimiyoshi family. He was quite old now and had aged badly. "Well, if it isn't Ayame," grumbled the grumpy Kimiyoshi head.

Ayame faked a smile that the Kimiyoshi head knew was something she was using to taunt him with. "Oh hello there, Kimiyoshi Toshi. How are you?" she spoke. Every time she spoke to him, it was as if she was trying to taunt him. She was no longer someone who was inferior to him, so why shouldn't she act like that? It was her own twisted form of revenge for mocking the Sonozaki family when she was younger.

"…Fine," he growled, the hatred for the Sonozaki Head in his voice blatant. "…..Just out for a stroll. …You?"

"I'm out picking some stuff up for my sister for her to cook. She's busy training, so," she spoke, finding it easy to talk with the man in front of her. There was no reason for her to fear him now.

Toshi raised one of his graying eyebrows. "Is that so? Your sister is still in training?" he remarked.

Ayame bit her lip, fearing that she had just made a terrible mistake that could cost the Sonozaki family. "No, no! She's training, but she's quite good at fighting!" she lied, waving her hands frantically. On the inside, she made a little wish that her lying skills would work and save her.

"I have never seen your sister fight," the old Kimiyoshi head spoke. "I would like to see her fight."

"T-That's because she doesn't really like fighting in front of people! She's a really shy person, so she keeps to herself!" she lied once again, playing with a strand of her hair nervously. "But I swear she's really good! I think she might even be better than me!" she added on.

Toshi didn't look convinced. "I'd like to see her fight sometime," he spoke. "I won't believe you with just words."

Ayame gulped. "Oh, sure! She's a little shy, though! I'll get her to show you her skills!" she spoke, now tugging on her kimono nervously.

Toshi nodded. "Alright. Show her to me sometime soon, all right? I'd like to see just how good you Sonozakis are," he murmured. "Perhaps you are the only Sonozaki worthy of praise…"

And with that, he walked off, leaving a very worried Ayame behind.

~~~~X~~~~

The door to the Sonozaki Manor burst open, almost causing the door to just fall off there and then. In walked Ayame, her face marred with worry. She was breathing heavily, looking around the room for a sign of life. No one was there except herself. She figured that Hana was probably in the dojo, Tatsuya might have been out, and Rion was probably in her room. She dropped the bag containing the vegetables on the floor, having almost forgotten about in completely underneath all the worry she had. There were more important matters to think about besides her dinner.

Instantly, she made her way down the hallway, her footsteps almost as loud as thunder. At the end of the hallway was the door to the dojo, her current destination. Hana should be there. If she wasn't, Ayame made a mental note to kick her butt.

Ayame practically kicked down the door to the dojo. The sight that greeted her eyes, however, did not please her in the slightest. On the floor was Hana, talking to Rion with her sword completely abandoned. "Hana! Rion!" she screamed at the two people sitting on the floor, who instantly turned their heads to look at the enraged Sonozaki Head. "What the heck are you two doing?"

Hana looked over to Rion. "We were just having a friendly chat!" she explained, playing with a strand of her hair nervously.

Ayame wasn't amused. "Well, you shouldn't be having a friendly chat with my daughter right now! You should be training your sword skills! The Sonozaki family cannot have someone that does not know their skills with swords or any other kind of skills! I simply won't allow it!" she yelled out, scaring her twin sister half to death. A dead serious look spread across her face, her eyes stern. They were not like the eyes of the Ayame seventeen years ago. At that moment, Hana was certain of something. She certainly wasn't the twin sister that she had grown up with.

"Mom! Aunt Hana and I were just talking for quite a bit! She's been training hard! Don't you think that you've been a little too tough on her!" protested Rion, jumping up to her feet.

Ayame sent her daughter an icy-cold glare that made Rion feel as if she had turned to stone. "Shut up, Rion. You shouldn't be disturbing your aunt while she is training. Don't you understand how important it is that every member of the Sonozaki family is perfectly trained? You are the heiress; you should know that something like that is the most important thing to monitor when you are head," she spoke to her, her voice filled not with the warmth of a mother, but the voice of a rude stranger. "Or perhaps I should disinherit you, hm? There are probably much more suitable heirs than you. Perhaps I should have another child and crown them the heir instead," she threatened, giving some serious thought on the matter.

In almost seconds, Rion dropped her head. "I'm sorry, mother! I will not disturb Aunt anymore, so please forgive me!" she begged, falling down to her knees. She had never heard her mother be so harsh to her before.

Ayame stood there, staring at her with judging eyes. "Fine then, Rion. I am still doubting whether or not you are really fit for the Sonozaki family. Leave if you want to me to still call you my child," she ordered her daughter with a stern voice. Rion dipped her head, and with that, ran out of the dojo as fast as she could.

Now that Rion had been dealt with, she focused her enraged gaze on her twin sister, sitting on the floor in shock. "Hana, I need you to listen to me right now. I have gotten myself in a sticky situation and need your cooperation to get out of it," she spoke to her. Hana nodded once, her ears ready to listen to whatever her sister had to tell her. "Alright, so I told Toshi that you were good at swords and fighting, hm? I told him this because he asked and I did not want to hurt the Sonozaki family by telling him that you were poor in these skills. Now, he wants to see you fight. I need you to train hard until you are perfect so you can show yourself in front of Kimiyoshi," she explained.

Hana's green eyes widened to the size of saucers. "Are you kidding me, sis? Why would you tell him something like that! I don't think he'd do anything if I weren't a good fighter!" she yelled back.

"I didn't want to hurt our pride," growled Ayame. "If something like that were to get out, the Sonozaki family could be ruined forever. We have finally gained the respect of the villagers, so now we have to keep it. That is my main priority. The pride of being a Sonozaki is more important to me than you or Rion."

Hana could only stare at her sister in horror. How could something be more important to her than her own twin sister and daughter? If she was so concerned about the Sonozaki family, shouldn't she be concerned about the actual members of her family? It didn't make sense to Hana. She had changed too much. "B-But sis! I'm not going to be head or anything like that, so why does it matter? I'm just your twin sister! Rion is going to be head of the Sonozaki family when you die! So why, why did you tell him that!" she spoke, sounding horrified at the idea of having to show off her less than amazing sword skills in front of the village leader. There was no way she could learn such a skill. Wasn't Ayame already aware that she had no talent in fighting whatsoever? Nothing was making sense to her anymore.

"I do not care. All the Sonozaki members have to be perfect, otherwise we will not gain a good reputation. Now, start training once again. I'll give you a week," she spoke.

With those words, Ayame walked out of the dojo.

Hana watched as her sister left, terrified. This was certainly not Sonozaki Ayame, her twin sister. This person was Sonozaki Ayame, head of the Sonozaki family. She was scared of that Ayame.

"Well, I guess I gotta return to practice," muttered Hana, standing up. She grabbed onto the hilt of the sword, swinging it around. "Oh wait, that's how Ayame told me not to do it… how did she tell me to swing it again? Er…"

~~~~X~~~~

Days had passed by with the speed of a cheetah. During those days, Hana felt as if she hadn't even left the dojo. Ayame had forced her to spend almost all day practicing her sword skills. It would help if Ayame actually tried to teach her. Instead, she had ordered Rion to keep watch of her aunt and point out when Hana did something wrong. Rion herself was able to fight though she lacked experience, as she was only fifteen years old.

"You're doing it wrong," Rion spoke, starling a very concentrated Hana.

"Well, what am I supposed to do?" she asked, the sword she was holding almost touching the ground.

Rion stood up using both of her hands to lift her and walked over towards her struggling aunt. "Here, try holding it like this," she spoke, taking the sword out of her hand and demonstrating how to hold it. "And then, you swing it down like this," she explained, swinging the sword down.

Hana nodded, taking the sword into her own hands. She copied her niece's exact movements, swinging down the sword just like how she had seen it. "Is that how I do it? Did I do it right for once?" she asked.

Rion nodded. "Yeah, you did it perfectly! Now keep doing that and you'll get the hang of it," she instructed.

Hana did as she was told, practicing the same movements over and over again. When she was done perfecting one, Rion would demonstrate how to do a different movement and Hana would do that one. Occasionally, Rion asked Hana to try to practice with a target. She was slowly growing better and better at her movements, but at the same time she knew her sister wouldn't be satisfied if she was only good at her sword skills. She had to be perfect, otherwise she would go on and on about how she was a disgrace to the Sonozaki family for not being a proper swordswoman. And so, she practiced and practiced with Rion's help. She was sure that soon she would get the hang of it. Feeling confident, she dropped the sword to the ground. "I think I might be good, Rion!"

"Yeah, you'll need a little more practice, though. We've gotten a lot done today, haven't we?" she commented, watching as her aunt cut down the targets that had been set up. She felt a little odd teaching her aunt, as she was much older than her. She wondered why Ayame didn't just teach her. If she was so concerned about her not being able to fight, then why didn't she just teach her herself? Not that she really cared. It was fun, really. The fact that she knew a little more made her beam on the inside.

"You've done a bunch of work so far, Aunt Hana. Do you want to take a break?" Rion suggested after a few hours of practice.

Hana nodded. "That would be nice. How about if we get something to eat?"

"Good idea."

And so, with that, the two of them left the dojo. They left behind their targets and swords, as they were to return shortly after they were done eating. The two of them wandered into the kitchen, picking out vegetables that Ayame had bought for them that day. Rion had never learned to cook as Ayame insisted on having her practice fighting instead of cooking. Now, this was her chance to learn something that didn't have to do with fighting. Hana was glad to teach her niece how to chop vegetables and cook them properly for a tasty meal.

They munched on what they had made, talking all the way. The food tasted great, as Hana was known to be an amazing chef since she had so much practice.

"So how long have you been cooking for?" asked Rion as she brought a cooked vegetable to her mouth.

Hana swallowed the food that was in her mouth. "Oh, a while. When sis was teaching herself how to fight, I figured I'd get myself a hobby as well. And since so many people farm in Onifaguchi, I figured, why not cook what they made? It would be a tribute to how much time the Onifaguchi villagers spent on their farming," Hana explaining, remembering the fond memories from years ago. She had been very little when she decided to take on the hobby of cooking. Her father and sister weren't too great at it, so Hana figured that she'd learn herself.

"And your father didn't mind at all?" Rion said as she picked at her vegetables, trying to decide which piece she would eat next.

Hana nodded. "Yeah, he didn't care about pride and that crap until he got sick of it. That was just shortly before he died," she explained.

Rion looked down into her food, feeling empty on the inside. She felt a little strange, as she hadn't been born back then. Were people really that different seventeen years ago? She swallowed the food she was chewing, not even thinking about how it tasted. "I wish I were alive back then," she murmured. "Everything seems so different now."

"It is different," Hana agreed. "But you shouldn't be ashamed about that. It's not your fault that you weren't alive then. Besides, the Sonozakis had it hard back then. So be happy, okay?"

Her niece nodded. The two of them were now done with lunch and decided to head back into the dojo for more vigorous training. They probably didn't have much time left to master sword skills. They knew how impatient Toshi could be at times. He probably wanted to see her fight soon. As such, they needed every moment they could use for practice.

As soon as they arrived, Hana started to practice her swings again. Rion had set up three targets for her to hit, ones rather easy. _Swoosh! _One target cut_ Swoosh!_ Two targets cut._ Swoosh! _Hana failed to cut the third target, missing it almost completely. Training like this would continue on for hours each day, but this time it seemed as if Hana was getting some luck. Usually, she wouldn't gain any experience from training whatsoever. Now, however, it seemed to be working.

"My, my. Working hard, I see," Ayame commented as she intruded on their training session.

"Mother."

"Sis!"

Ayame smiled. "I'm glad to see you are working hard. Do you think you're ready to show off your skills?" she asked.

Hana looked over to Rion, as if asking for her own opinion on the matter. Rion simply shrugged. Well, it shouldn't really matter that much if she screwed up, anyways. Wasn't Ayame just making a big deal over nothing? Besides, she was good at fighting now, wasn't she? "Yeah, I think I'm ready, sis! I think I've learned how to fight perfectly!" she replied happily.

A grin spread across Ayame's face. "Okay, that's great. How about if we head over to Kimiyoshi's now? Be sure to bring your sword," she suggested.

Hana nodded. "Alright!"

~~~~X~~~~

Hana and Ayame strolled down the dusty paths of Onifaguchi. Hana had the sword she had been practicing with for weeks strapped to her back, ready to show off with it. Of course, she wasn't one hundred percent sure that she could put on a perfect show. But it shouldn't matter if she screwed up, should it? Kimiyoshi wouldn't care if the Sonozaki family had one member that couldn't fight. She wasn't even a heiress! She wouldn't ever be the head, so why did it even matter?

In fact, if she screwed up, she could show Ayame how silly she had been acting all along. Toshi would probably laugh a little bit and then forget about the whole incident. That would be enough to prove to Ayame that the Sonozaki family was absolutely fine how it was. Everyone already respected them, so why did they need to become perfect?

The two of them eventually came to the Kimiyoshi house. Ayame knocked on the door, waiting for an answer. She had a sense of déjà vu from the time that she came here to tell him that she had killed Madoka. It had been a similar situation.

Toshi answered the door almost instantly, surprised by who he found standing behind the door. In front of him were two girls, completely identical in every way. It was rather shocking every time someone saw them in the same place, as most people they met hadn't ever seen a pair of identical twins before. "Hm, Ayame and Hana, is it? What have you come here for?"

"I've come to show you my sister's skills!" spoke Ayame, gesturing to the girl standing next to her. "After all, you said you wouldn't believe in the Sonozaki family's true strength if you didn't see her skills!"

Toshi grumbled a little bit. "I see. Have her come to the dojo. My son is training right now, but he should be glad to watch. I must also inform you that Furude Kiku is visiting at the moment," he said.

Hana felt a little nervous. Were they both to watch her? She wasn't even that great at sword fighting in the first place! Should she just tell her sister that she pretty much sucked at fighting?  
No, after all, if she really did fail, then Ayame would understand that she's been being way too concerned about the Sonozaki family. After all, no one really cared if she couldn't fight, did they?

Taking a deep breath, Hana stepped inside. She could feel her legs tremble with every step she took. Why was she so scared? Toshi wasn't all that scary, right? Besides, nothing could truly go wrong here.

The Kimiyoshi dojo was almost equal in size to the Sonozaki one, though it was a little bigger. Hana was able to see her twin sister's eye twitch in annoyance when she came to the dojo and observed it's size. She was probably a bit bothered by the fact that the Kimiyoshi dojo was bigger that the one the Sonozaki family owned. In the center of the dojo stood Toshi's son, focused on practicing his material art skills. He seemed to be having quite a bit of trouble breaking the target that he had been given. "Alright, son, please back down. We have a guest who wishes to show off their skills," Toshi ordered. With a quick nod, his son grabbed the target and ran to the side of the dojo, curious to who had come.

Hana stepped in the center, clutching the hilt of her sword slung over her shoulder. She didn't have a very fancy sword; she simply had a basic one used for people who were average at sword fighting. Ever so slowly, she pulled the sword out of its sheath. The metal of the sword glistened as it touched the bright light, creating metallic sounds as it slid out of the sheath it had been encased in. She held it out proudly, showing off to everyone in the dojo how wonderful her sword was.

Furude Kiku sat next to Toshi's son, watching the girl intently. Toshi only raised an eyebrow when he caught sight of the sword, instantly recognizing it as a sword that was not for advanced swordsman. Ayame had mentioned that she was almost as good as her. Now, seeing that sword, Toshi doubted that fact more than he had before.

Toshi walked over to the center the dojo and set up a few targets for her to hit. "Cut these in half," he ordered her.

Hana breathed heavily as she looked directly at the targets as if she was trying to see right into them. They looked just like any old targets that she had cut down before, so it shouldn't be too hard. Hana ran up to the targets, her silver sword in hand. Wish a large swing of her sharp sword; she cut all three targets directly in half.

"…That was too easy, how about if we try these?" Toshi spoke. He gathered up the remains of the two ruined targets and tossed them to the side before going over to the cabinet located along the periphery of the dojo. He opened it up, pulling out several more targets and set them up in front of her. These targets were more sturdy and harder to cut, but Hana had cut some of these before. It shouldn't be too hard, should it? She positioned her sword in front of one of the targets and slashed through it with a quick movement before she moved on and did she same thing with the targets placed right next to it. That hadn't been too hard.

Toshi repeated himself, throwing away the remains of the demolished targets. Now, the targets he set up were extremely sturdy. Hana felt a bead of sweat drip down from her forehead. Could she cut these ones? She shook of her fear of failure before she stepped up to the targets in front of her. If she were to use all her strength, perhaps she could cut through them. The sword that she used wasn't made to cut such hard objects. Perhaps a katana could do it, but she had no experience with that and did not want to bother using such a thing. Something could go horribly wrong if she didn't have enough experience. That was something she was sure of. Gulping, Hana held the sword so that the blade was pointing towards the center of the target. She let out a deep breath before she used all her strength to swing the sword into the target. She had quite the struggle with the target. At first, the sword did not cut all the way through the target. Then, she forced strength she didn't even have into her body to finish off the target.

But there was still one more for her to cut down. A lump of lead grew in Hana's grow. How was she to cut down this target when she had such a hard time cutting down the last one? The younger green-haired twin held her sword at the ready, not so sure that she could even break into the surface of the target. Finally, she swung the sword. It managed to break the target halfway through the center, but no more than that. She let out a deep breath as she thrust the sword again, this time chopping it in half successfully.

Toshi then set up the next target. This time, there was only one target. However, the target was sturdier than all the rest. She was sure that only a katana could possible cut through it. Perhaps a person with expert sword skills could cut through it using a normal sword, however, Hana was no expert. She positioned the sword right in front of it, touching the surface of the target with the blade of her sword. She drew the sword backwards and made the move to cut it in half. The blade of the sword and the hard surface of the target met, clashing with each other. The blade of the sword managed to chip the surface a little, but did nothing more. There was no way she could possibly break through this target. Trying again, Hana swung the sword only to get the same result.

Ayame frowned. Hadn't her sister been practicing straight for weeks? She should be able to cut through the target. She looked around the room to see the other's reactions. Toshi looked unamused, Kiku wore a frown on her face, and Toshi's son was trying to stifle a laugh. At this point, the Sonozaki family's legacy was going to be destroyed forever!  
Hana eventually gave up on trying to cut the target. It was just too much for her. How could someone possibly cut it with just a normal sword?

"Why didn't you bring a katana?" questioned Toshi.

Hana looked down, ashamed of herself. "I'm sorry, I don't know how to use a katana," she admitted. "I've never even touched a sword other than this one before…"

"Oh, I thought you were just as good as your sister, hm? That's a pretty lame sword you have there, Hana. Or at least, she told me that you were just as good as her," Toshi spoke, glancing over to a horrified Ayame. "Or perhaps, has the great Sonozaki family's standards lowered? Has the great Sonozaki head lost her ability to fight since Madoka died?"

"Excuse me, but the Sonozaki family is better than your family will ever be!" Ayame snapped back at Toshi.

Toshi laughed. "Oh really, even when this girl here can't even cut a target like this? I think not! I used to believe that you guys were great, but this is just ridiculous!" he spoke. Of course, he was really just exaggerating his feelings. Simply having one family member who couldn't fight, he thought, wasn't that big of a deal. He was just trying to get Ayame worked up for revenge against everything she had done to him since the death of Madoka, the demon that had terrorized Onifaguchi for months. After all, his son wasn't even that great.

Rage filled Ayame as she attempted to go for the old man's neck. Startled, Toshi jumped out of the way. "Whoa, you're getting a little violent there, aren't you? Bothered that you aren't number one anymore?" he taunted, knowing that his words were complete lies. How gullible could she get? Who would really believe that the Sonozaki family dropped a rank just because one member couldn't cut a target? Toshi knew that they were still higher, but found it fun to bother the Sonozaki Head. She was so easily aggravated that it came to the point where it was hilarious.

"Shut up, shut up!" Ayame screamed.

"Stop it, sis! He's just trying to annoy you!" shouted Hana from the center of the dojo, running forward to her sister. She grasped onto her arm, using all her might to pull her away from the old Head of the Kimiyoshi family. "Why don't you calm down a little?"

"Shut up, Hana!" growled Ayame, trying to shake off her sister's strong grip. "I need to get this man!"

But Hana did not let go of her sister. She needed to stop her at all costs. Who knows what she was to do to the Kimiyoshi head once she got her hands on him? Using the strength she had that hadn't disappeared from breaking all those targets; she pulled her sister away. "Let's go home, now!" she spoke, tugging her sister further and further away from the dojo.

Hana practically had to drag her sister down the dusty paths of Onifaguchi. Ayame wore a very angered look on her face, dying to go back to the Kimiyoshi house and smash Toshi's face in, or perhaps break every bone in his body. She had extremely violent thoughts filling every corner of her mind as she stared into the distance. The Kimiyoshi Manor was slowly growing further and further away from sight, and eventually the two of them couldn't even see it anymore. Or rather, Ayame couldn't see it anymore. Hana refused to look back at the Kimiyoshi Manor. She needed to get home and calm her sister down before anything happened.

It took what seemed like forever and a half for Hana to pull her angry sister into the Sonozaki Manor. By this point, she had calmed down a little. Still, she wore a very angered expression all over her face. Anyone who saw it would certainly run away in fear. Who knew what the Sonozaki Head could do when she was angered?

Once inside, Hana released Ayame. No words were exchanged between the two identical twin sisters. That was, until Ayame decided to snap.

"You there! It's all your fault!" screamed Ayame.

Hana looked confused for a split second, but then a cross look replaced the confused look. "No it's not! Listen, he was just trying to make you angry! You know, like how you usually do that to him to make him angry about falling behind the Sonozakis!" she tried to explain to her sister.

Ayame, however, didn't even hear her sister's words. And even if she did, she simply didn't respond to them. "Don't you understand? The whole Sonozaki family is going to be in ruins because of you! Why did you tell me you were ready to face the Kimiyoshi head when you really weren't? Tell me, right now!" she demanded.

"Listen, it doesn't even matter! Why don't you understand what I'm trying to tell you!" snapped Hana, throwing her hands up in the air, frustrated with her sister.

"SHUT UP! I'LL KILL YOU, YOU DISGRACE!" screamed Ayame at the top of her lungs. At that moment, something strange happened. Her eyes glowed a bright blue for a spilt second and she grabbed onto one of the two katana she kept resting in the main room behind her cushion. She lunged at her twin sister, going for the kill. Gasping, Hana tumbled out of the way.

"What the hell are you trying to do, sis! You're insane!" screamed Hana as she ran away from yet another blow from his sister's katana.

"I'm. Not. INSANEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" screeched Ayame, running at her sister with the katana and moving to hit her with it for a third time, only to miss once again.

"Whoa! What's going on in there?" a voice suddenly coming from the hallway suddenly called out. The two sisters froze in their tracks, alarmed by the sudden intrusion. In walked a very confused Tatsuya, who certainly wasn't expecting to be greeted by the sight of his wife trying to murder her twin sister with a katana. A horrified look passed his face. "W-What… the hell…"

"Leave, Tatsu-chan! I'm punishing a disgrace to the Sonozaki family! She let herself screw up in front of Kimiyoshi and jeopardized the whole family's power!" screamed Ayame, her voice stern.

Tatsuya's jaw almost dropped to the floor as he stared into his wife's eyes. "Ayame… your eyes… t-they're… they're light blue…"

"What? My eyes are fine!" snapped Ayame, not aware of the new color that painted her irises. Annoyed, Ayame turned back to her whimpering sister and lunged her sword forward; ready to kill the one person whom she thought ruined the Sonozaki family's pride.

Surprisingly, Tatsuya ran forward and pushed Hana out of the way just in time, sending the katana's blade crashing into the floor.

"Tatsu-chan! What the hell do you think you're doing!" snapped Ayame, glaring at her husband with icy blue eyes.

Tatsuya looked into her eyes, eyes that were not eyes belonging to his wife. "I'm defending Hana, what else? Calm down, please! Hana hasn't done anything wrong! I'm sure we can all go back to normal and work out all our issues if you'll just calm down!" he yelled back, his voice tattered with desperation to see the emerald green eyes of his wife once again. He did not know whose icy blue eyes those were.

"Why? Why are you defending a traitor? Do you not love me, Tatsu-chan?" she spoke, her grip on the hilt of the katana not loosening the slightest. A hint of sadness painted her face along with complete anger, mixing in to form a rather unique expression.

Pain filled Tatsuya's lilac eyes. "Of course I love you, Ayame. I've loved you for so many years now. But I can't allow you to kill Hana! You're not acting like yourself!" he spoke. His body became a wall, defending Hana from the vicious demon filled with intent to kill.

Ayame's saddened light blue eyes returned to being just plain angry. "Well them, Tatsu-chan, I guess I have no choice, then?" she spoke. Without any warning, Ayame swung the katana at her husband. Taking a deep breath, Tatsuya hoped for the best. If he were to move, Ayame would surely kill Hana. Perhaps Ayame would regain her sanity and realize what she was doing. After all, Ayame would never kill him, right?

All hopes he had were shattered as the blade of Ayame's katana came down on him, slicing his arm off. He screeched out in pain as Ayame then turned to dismember his other arm before moving on to cut up his body. Hana could do nothing but stare in horror as crimson blood splattered on the ground and on her pale face, staining the whole room.

She had killed her own husband, and she was next.

Ayame wiped away the blood that had exploded on her face from the kill and held up the katana, still dripping with her now dead husband's blood. She licked her lips, her icy-blue eyes burning with insanity.

Hana covered her head with her hands as she rolled out of the way of Ayame's incoming blade, her hope to survive slowly fading. She had killed her own husband, so she certainly wouldn't spare her. She could do nothing but whimper in fear and roll out of the way of attacks. She didn't know how much longer she could keep this up for.

She was slowly growing tired of rolling. Soon, she knew, she had to give up and die. There was no way she could withstand her sister's rage any longer. Looking up into the eyes of the girl she once knew of her twin sister, she let out a sad smile. "I'm sorry that things turned out this way, sis. One day, I hope we can see each other again," she breathed, knowing that she could no longer take the constant thrusts of her sister's katana. The last thing she saw were her sister's eyes coated with pure insanity as she whipped the blade down for the last time, cutting her open and finally finishing her off.

Ayame let the sword coated with a mixture of her sister's blood and her husband's blood drop to the side. She was breathing heavily, staring at her kill. Blood stained every corner of the room, but nothing in the room was as bloody as her clothing. The black fabric was no longer recognizable as black. It was now a deep crimson, clinging to her figure.

She sat down on the ground, not feeling one bit of pity for the two humans she had just brutally murdered. She had to admit to herself, they both had it coming.

"M…M…. M-Mom?" a timid and voice spoke. This was a voice that managed to snap Ayame back to her senses. She whipped around to meet the terrified eyes of her daughter, her feet frozen to the ground in fear. Slowly, her icy-blue eyes faded back to its normal green color. Then, it hit her. She had just killed the man she loved more than anything and her own twin sister who had been with her ever since she was born. Grief filled every corner of her body as she slowly let the realization sink in. She herself was horrified at her own actions.

"R-Rion!" she called out to the girl standing in front of her. "Oh, my little Rion! My darling little Rion!" she cried out. Ayame jumped to her feet, dropped her katana, and ran towards the girl who stood there with wide eyes.

Almost instantly, Rion tried to run away. "Y-You're crazy, mom! Don't get near me!" she screeched, attempting to make a quick get away. She didn't know what would happen to her if she got a step closer to her mother. Perhaps she too would die.

She wasn't fast enough, however, as her mother quickly pulled her into a tight embrace. The blood covering her kimono rubbed onto her daughter's clothes as she smothered her with love, kissing her face every here and there and nuzzling against her closely. Rion struggled, wanting nothing more than to run away from her mother. "Oh, Rion… I didn't mean to. I-I wasn't thinking and… for some reason… I-I didn't feel like myself," she tried to explain, running her bloodstained finger through her daughter's locks of lime green hair.

Rion coughed, her struggling slowly weakening. "W-What the hell? Mom, what the hell?"

Ayame held her daughter tightly to her chest, going over the things that she had done. What caused her to kill her husband and twin sister? She didn't understand.

Oh, yes, that's right. It was because she was too proud of the Sonozaki family to allow small errors. She had gone mad with her own power and want for power.

That's when a familiar voice echoed in her head, speaking words she should have never forgotten.

_ "Remember this, Ayame," Sayuri spoke. "With great power comes great responsibility… and great insanity."_

Only now did she realize what those words meant. Insanity was the drawback of having so much power and lust for power. She should have listened to Sayuri when she spoke those words. She should have burned every one of them into her head and never have forgotten them. Perhaps this wouldn't have happened otherwise. Her demonic powers were the source of all that had gone wrong.

Ayame pulled herself away from her daughter, but still left two hands on her shoulders as she stared into the pair of green eyes that were so much like her own. "Listen, Rion. Your mother has a story to tell you. A real story," she spoke. "I know you're mad at me, but please listen to everything I have to say to you."

And so, she told her daughter the story of her victory against Madoka once again. However, this time, she made sure to include every detail, including the ones she had left out before. She told Rion all about how Sayuri had offered to turn her into a demon and give her ultimate power in exchange for killing Madoka. She told Rion about how she had accepted the offer gladly. And finally, she told Rion about the words Sayuri had told her and how she should have never forgotten about them. And when she told her daughter all this, she listened gladly. It was as if she was a child again, listening to her mother's stories before she tucked in her into the futon.

When she had finally finished, the two of them stared into the other's eyes. "And that's how it really goes, Rion. I am sorry for lying about this all this time," she spoke.

"…So, mother, you're a demon?" asked Rion, her head titled to the side only slightly.

Slowly, Ayame nodded, a sad smile on her face. "Yes, I am a demon, Rion. I absorbed Sayuri and became a demon. I told you that, yes?"

Rion averted her gaze, intertwining her own fingers as a nervous gesture. "Yes, you told me that, mother. I just wanted to make sure that I heard you right."

Ayame let her hands drop from her daughter's shoulders. "Tell me, Rion, do you hate me?" she asked.

Rion didn't speak for a few seconds, instead, she thought over what she was to tell her mother. "I… I don't hate you, mother. You were not the one who killed father and Aunt Hana. It was the demon side of you. And I don't believe you are truly demon, mother, as you only absorbed Sayuri in, who was a demon," she answered. Truth was clear in her voice, making it certain that she was speaking exactly as she was thinking.

"Yes, perhaps I am not truly a demon, Rion. But that does not change the fact that I have killed your father and your aunt. And for that…" Ayame stood up on her two legs, looking down at her daughter with warmth in her eyes. "Rion, please follow me," she ordered.

Rion did as she was told, and followed her mother into the blood-coated room. Her mother stepped into puddles of blood, walking to the center. She slowly bent over and picked up the katana she had used to kill her husband and twin sister. Then, she walked over to the back of the room and removed another katana from a stand behind the cushion she usually sat on, now drenched with crimson blood. With the two weapons in hand, Ayame walked back towards her daughter and smiled down at her. Then, she did something that surprised her daughter. She took the katana that was barren of any blood and thrust it into her open arms. Rion grasped onto it, confused. She looked down at it for a few seconds, admiring how well it was crafted. Then, she looked into the sorrowful eyes of her mother, awaiting her to speak.

"This was once your grandfather's sword, Rion. After he died, it became mine," she explained. "And now, Rion, it is your sword."

Shock filled Rion's eyes, causing them to widen. She opened her mouth to protest, but could not find the words to express how she felt.

"From this day on, you are the head of the Sonozaki Family, Sonozaki Rion," spoke Ayame, her tone a little shaken but still remaining serious.

"B-But mother! I-I!" she tried to protest, only to be silenced by her mother placing a single finger over her red lips.

"Hush, my little one. Do not protest. I have done something unforgivable. For that, I want you to take that sword you're holding right now… and kill me," she said, warmth in her tone despite the fact that she was talking about something so gruesome as death.

Fear. Confusion. Shock. These were the three things that Rion felt at that time. "No, mother! I cannot kill you!" she yelled, a few tears slipping down her cheeks and pattering against the floor, creating a mixture of blood and tears. "You're the only family I have left! I can't! I just can't!"

Ayame smiled, yet it was not a happy smile she wore. It was one filled with pain and sadness at seeing her daughter so upset. The last time she had seen her cry was when she was little and had lost her stuffed bear. She had cried so hard at that time. Then, she recalled her smiling face when she had found it once again. Never after that did she cry, not even once. "It is my last order to you as the Sonozaki Head and as your mother. Rion, kill me," she spoke.

More tears ran down her daughter's face, tears that seemed to be unstoppable. "M-Mother…" was the only word she could speak.

"And Rion, after I am dead, I want you to do something for me, alright?" she said. Her daughter looked up at her, ready to listen to anything her mother had to tell her. "I want you to take this bloodstained katana and lock it up tightly. This is the katana that I stole from Madoka when I killed her. She told me that it had the souls of thousands of evil demons trapped inside it. It is cursed. Make sure that no one ever touches this ever again," she ordered, showing her the bloodstained katana that she was still carrying.

Rion nodded. "A-Anything you ask… mother…"

Ayame smiled, glad that her daughter had listen to her despite the fact that she had done such a cruel thing to her. "Thank you, Rion," she whispered into her daughter's ear. "…I love you, so much…

Then, she paused. "Oh, Rion. I know I've been a little greedy, but I have one last request to make. This one is a little difficult, but it's very important. Will you listen to what I have to say?" she spoke.

"Of course, m-mother. A-Anything," she said, her voice still shaky from the constant tears.

With a deep breath, Ayame began to speak. "When I became a demon, Sayuri told me something. She told me that no Sonozaki family member would ever be born as a demon like me unless one thing were to happen," she began to explain. "The power of a demon is a terrible thing, and I want you to make sure that this is never fulfilled, so pay attention to these next words."

Rion focused her ears on the words of her mother, blocking out the sounds of the higurashi cicadas that were crying fiercely in the background.

"Rion," spoke Ayame. "Never let a pair of twins be born into the Sonozaki family ever again. For if they are, one of them will be born a demon."

Her daughter nodded, taking in ever one of the words. "Of course, mother. I will make sure of it. I promise you!" she replied. Whatever her mother had to say to her, she would surely listen to. She did not want a tragedy like this to happen ever again.

Ayame set the cursed katana down, pushing it away from her. "And now, Rion, the time has come. Kill me with that katana of yours. You may do it however you like. You can kill me quickly or you can kill me slowly," she instructed, "as long as you hit my head or my heart, I will surely die."

Rion nodded once again, tears still staining her cheeks. Ayame took a few steps back and looked into the sorrowful eyes of her daughter. Slowly, Rion lifted up the katana that had belonged to her grandfather, her mother, and now her. Her hands were shaking, as so was the katana. She closed her eyes as she positioned the katana in front of her mother, ready to chop down on her head and kill her instantly. She wanted to give her a quick death and hopefully make it painless. She would never be able to forgive herself if she made her mother suffer.

And then, with all her might, she thrust the katana down on her mother's head, instantly killing her.

The limp and lifeless body of the previous Sonozaki head dropped to the ground with a hollow thud. Rion drew the katana away from her mother's head slowly, feeling pain and regret at having killed her mother. But it was her final wish, so she had to comply. Now, tears flowed down her cheeks like never before. She felt the sadness of having lost all her relatives pile up at once and release itself in a waterfall of tears. She flung her body at her mother's dead one, burying her head into her mother's chest.

"Mother… Mother!" she cried out, tears dripping on the blood-soaked kimono. "I promise you! I'll fulfill all of your wishes! I'll keep the Sonozaki family great for you, and I'll certainly lock away the cursed katana that killed Aunt Hana and sister," she sobbed into her mother's chest, her voice ever so slightly muffled by the bloodstained fabric. "And most of all, I'll make sure that twins are never born again, ever. You can count on me, mother! Your Rion will make sure of it, for all eternity!" she vowed loudly, her voice echoing across the empty, almost lifeless room.

~~~~X~~~~

**Crimso's Corner**

**Phew! I'm sorry that took such a long time to write up! Long story short: I'm having issues in real life and my time for writing is limited. I spent the last three hours writing for you guys when I should be studying for a Spanish test that takes place tomorrow, so be happy, okay? Plus, this chapter is 12,000 words, so that should also do it. That's pretty long for me. Now you guys can certainly forgive me for that wimpy 2,000-word chapter, yes? Plus, it was my dad's birthday yesterday and I spent the day hanging with him because I am a good child.**

**And I'm sorry if that part about the twins seemed out of place. I realized right after I finished writing the part where Rion killed Ayame that I had forgotten to include that, so went back to add it back in. Whoops! What a horrible error that would have been if I didn't notice it. So, I guess seeming out of place is better than not having it at all? **

**I rushed this chapter a little, sorry. I'm in a rush to complete this story as I only have a month before school ends and then I have to go to… camp *throws up in a corner*. Yeah, I want to finish my story before that because I'm at camp for a freaking month without any Internet or computer. I don't want to leave you guys hanging for a month or anything like that. That would just be cruel of me. Besides, you guys might forget about this story and what happened if I left you like that for a while month! Yeah, I really don't want to go to camp. I have no idea where it is or what it looks like. All I know is that it has a very large program of activities. I heard you can learn how to shoot a gun there, too. That sounds kind of fun, I guess. But what I'm most concerned about is the kids there. I mean, what if they're mean? D:. I hate most of the people I know, so surely I'll hate a bunch of people there, too. R-Right? T_T. Or maybe I'll meet some hardcore Higurashi fan that is obsessed with MionXKeiichi. Oh yeah right, Crimso, keep dreaming. The only one I know that likes Higurashi and MionXKeiichi is my sister D:. The only other people who know about higurashi other than me and my sister are my two best friends. One of them HATES it even though she hasn't watched a single second of it. Sigh. The other one seems kind of interested. Maybe I'll get her into it? Er, not likely.**

**In any case, thank you for reading **_**Green-Eyed Demon**_** up until this point! Next chapter, get ready to return to Mion, Keiichi, and the Green-Eyed Demon (who is Mion, so I guess I shouldn't have listed her). Please make sure to review this chapter! The more reviews I get, the faster I update. Reviews encourage me to write more. Also, please point out any typos you might find. I've been going back and fixing up chapters for typos. It's quite important that I don't scare readers off with typos. You get one Crimso Buffet ticket per typo you point out! Oh, by the way, thanks to The Minister for pointing out a particularly bad typo I had in the last chapter. Here's a plushie of the Green-Eyed Demon without her mask on for you *hands over plushie***

**Sorry if you have any confusion about this chapter, by the way. I was trying to associate (not assassinate, damn spell check. I wonder if any of you read this chapter when it said ****assassinate**?) Ayame's insanity with Pride and then it turned into Greed by pure accident. Oops. Oh well, I like greed. Did you know that Greed is my favorite of the Seven Deadly Sins? I bet you thought it was envy. NOPE! Greed is five times more awesome than envy, which is five times more awesome than any of the other deadly sins besides greed combined! Well, maybe that's just because I'm an extremely greedy person. I could go on and on about all the things I want. In fact, since I'm a greedy person, I want reviews! Tons of 'em! Just kidding, that sounded rude. Please review. Does that sound a little better? Reviewers get to taste some of the famous Crimso Cookies (NOTE: not made with real Crimso). They're good, I promise.

**Holy crap, I'm on the document editor right now. This Crimso's Corner is freaking huge. I hope I didn't scare you all off with it's length. Actually, I think it's 1,000 words *sulks*.**

**OUT!**

**~Crimso**

**P.S: As of today, this fanfiction is now two months old. Happy birthday!**


	24. Chapter 23: Forgotten

**I just finished my Spanish Test, I was the first one done. Actually, not really. I just finished doing my English homework which I did after I finished the Spanish Test. You know, the one I didn't study for because I spent my study time writing this fic for you. It was easy. Which is shocking, because I never do well in Spanish. I bet you anything that I failed anyways. I have never once gotten an A on a Spanish test. The closest I got was an 88 (B+). Which kind of sucks, really. My mom keeps talking about how I could easily get an A, but it's not really that easy. I hate language. I wish it wasn't required. Hehe, now I'm reminded of the time I was writing about Mion at Angel Mort in Spanish Class the last of school before spring break. I wonder why I remember those things? I remember writing Chapter three in Science class, which also reminds me of the time when I suddenly got a nosebleed (same day) and had to go wash it up while I was still in the middle of writing a sentence. Er, you don't need to read this. **

**By the way, I think I failed my math test. I didn't look at my grade. Whatever, I don't care anymore.**

**Let's not talk about grades, because school sucks. Let's move onto the fanfiction, which is why you are reading this note right here.**

**Okay, so here's what you've been waiting for: The great return to Mion, Rika, Keiichi, and the others! I know you've missed them. I've missed writing about them, too.**

**WARNING: SUPER, SUPER, SUPER SHORT CHAPTER AHEAD! (Yes, again I give you guys a super short chapter. I'm sorry.)**

~~~~X~~~~

"And that's how the story goes," Hanyuu finished, nearly out of breath from telling such a long tale. "That's the tale of Sonozaki Ayame, and how her own emotions got the best of her in the end."

Rika sat on the dusty ground of the Saiguden, her mouth circled into a gasp. The tale she had just heard astounded her in numerous ways. It had such a powerful mixture of emotions. Happiness, fear, sadness, love, insanity. These were the emotions that made up the tale. But most importantly, she had learned something from the tale. She had gotten the hint she was looking for.

"…Is it really a true story, Hanyuu? Are you sure?" she asked, her eyes wide.

Hanyuu nodded slowly. "Yes, it is a real story. Sonozaki Ayame was a real head of the Sonozaki family who really did kill a demon. And then, at the end of her life…"

"…The emotions got the best of her," Rika finished.

No words were exchanged for a few moments as they both recalled the gruesome end to the tale. How could someone grow so insane that they'd murder their own husband? Surely, she regretted that in the end. That must have been whey she asked her own daughter to do the deed of killing her. Now, she understood why Hanyuu had mentioned that her tale reminded her of her own tale. Hanyuu's daughter had killed her at the end of her tale; similar to the one she had just read.

"It must have been horrible… for Rion," murmured Rika.

Hanyuu nodded. "I can understand what Ayame was going through at that time… perfectly."

Hanyuu didn't need to explain herself any further. The reason why was already very clear to Rika. In fact, she had been crying a little when she was reading that part, wasn't she? Oh yes, she had been. She was probably reminded of her daughter at that time. She wasn't too familiar with how Hanyuu's daughter acted, but perhaps they were similar.

"…I'm sorry, Hanyuu," murmured Rika.

The goddess that ruled over all on Hinamizawa wiped away a stray tear that still remained on her face. "It's okay, Rika. Besides, we have more important things to talk about right now other than my… daughter," she spoke. The last word, however, seemed to contain an element of sorrow that none of the other ones had.

Rika nodded sadly. Hanyuu was right. Hanyuu's daughter killed her so many years ago. Now, they had to think about what this story told them. The main hint they had as to what was going to happen to them before was Mion's growing green eyes. At the end of the tale, Ayame's eyes had glowed an icy-blue for a split second and then stayed that way until Rion had caught her after killing Hana and Tatsuya. The glowing eyes seemed to symbolizing that someone was about to snap. But the main question here was: Why did Ayame's eyes turn blue? Why didn't they turn a sickly green like Mion's did?

"So, let's think about this. Ayame's eyes turned an icy-blue, but Mion's turned a lighter green," Rika spoke, telling Hanyuu the thought that was on her mind. Since the glowing green eyes were the only hint they came with, she figured she might as well figure out the answer to that one as well.

Hanyuu flipped open the book with the story of Sonozaki Ayame in it. Although she had been telling her the story from memory, she figured it would be easier to go back and look in the book for the information on that. She flipped through the hundreds of pages that filled the book, searching for that one page where Ayame's eye color changed into an icy blue color. It would surely be located at the end of the book, as that was when it happened. When she reached the part where Ayame began to get angry with Hana after they returned from the Kimiyoshi Manor, she began to flip through the pages more slowly, reading each and every one of them. "Aha! I found it!" declared Hanyuu, pointing to a particular passage on one of the pages near the very, very end of the book. "Ayame's eyes were not like her own, they were now an icy-blue. The eyes stunned Tatsuya, staring into them. These eyes were not her own," she read out loud.

"And they only turned icy-blue when she snapped?" Rika spoke, looking at the page and reading it for herself.

Hanyuu nodded. "Yes, this is the case."

Rika had to think about that for a little while. Didn't Sayuri say something about demons transforming into their true forms and changing shape as they did so? Perhaps eye color was also something that changed. Now that she thought about it, Sayuri had icy-blue eyes. Since Ayame had absorbed her, that could mean that their true form looked identical. No, wait. Madoka had said something like that.

Rika snatched the old book away from Hanyuu's hands, starling the poor unsuspecting goddess. She flipped through the pages as fast as she could. It was probably somewhere in the middle of the book where she said it. Wasn't it right after she transformed into her true form? Then, it should be around…

"Ah! I found it!" the blue-haired miko cried out.

_"Are you scared by my true form? Seeing as you absorbed my sister, your true form looks the same. You are not truly a demon, however. You were not born as one. The powers that you were given are powers that belonged to us," she cackled._

So it was true. The reason why Ayame's eyes turned blue was probably because her true form has blue eyes. "Sayuri said that demons slowly turn into their true form when maddened, yes?" Rika asked for clarification while still in deep thought.

"I believe she did, why?" Hanyuu said, still in shock from having the book taken from her so suddenly.

Rika smiled widely. She had pinpointed exactly what she was looking for. "I've got it, Hanyuu! I know what the answer is!" she cried out, jumping up from the pure joy of figuring out the question she had had for so long.

The goddess looked puzzled. "You found the answer to what?" she asked.

The grin on Rika's face did not fade in the slightest. This was the first time Hanyuu had seen Rika so happy since a very long time ago. "Ayame's eyes turned icy-blue because her true form's eyes are icy-blue! Remember how Sayuri's eyes were blue? And remember how Madoka said that her true form was identical to that of Sayuri's because she absorbed her? Well, her eyes turned blue because she was starting to turn into her true form!" she yelled out. Then, she pumped her fist up in the air and jumped up, screaming, "YES!" over and over again.

Hanyuu was dumbfounded at the sight before her that could only be described as horrifying. To see Rika happy was one thing, but to see her this happy was another. Her jaw nearly dropped to the ground of the Saiguden as Rika began dance happily about the tool shrine, humming to herself.

"And now, to put it all together!" Rika cried out, bring her dancing and singing to a halt. "Okay, so at the end, Ayame said to Rion that the condition was that twins should never be born in the Sonozaki family otherwise one will be born demon. Judging by this and the glowing eyes, it is clear Mion is a demon. Her true form must have green eyes!" she finished off, feeling proud at having come to such a drastic conclusion. She folded her arms and closed her eyes, satisfied with herself.

Still, the goddess felt uncertain. "Ur, but what about why she's turning into her true form? We still don't know about that," she pointed out.

Rika's pride was shattered into a billion peaces at those words. That's right, she had forgotten the most important part. If she was really turning into her true form, then why was she turning into her true form? There are so many reasons why one could lose their sanity.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that," muttered Rika.

The two of them stood there in silence for a few minutes as they thought over the reason why Mion might snap. Rika thought and thought, but she couldn't quite put a finger on it. Perhaps by analyzing Mion's personality, she could come up with a reason why she could snap. Suddenly, Rika remembered something. The word analyze reminded her of the time when Hanyuu had analyzed all of the previous Hinamizawas and told her the probability of them happening again. "Hanyuu! We forgot!" she screamed out.

The goddess blinked, confused by what the young miko meant. They had forgotten what? "I'm sorry Rika, what do you-" she spoke, only to be cut off by her friend's trembling voice.

"…W-When you were analyzing the previous Hinamizawas… w-we… w-we forgot one," she spoke, her voice sounding horrified with the pure realization of such an event. If only they hadn't forgotten that one Hinamizawa… maybe, just maybe they could have fixed it before this happened. "_That_ Hinamizawa…"

"Wait, what do you…" Hanyuu began to speak before the realization hit her as well, as if it had been passed on like the plague. Her eyes grew wide and her whole body stiffened. "I-I… I know what you're talking about now. It was a world that was constantly occurring within the first five hundred years of our journey. However, it stopped happening after five hundred years. W-We fixed that Hinamizawa though! That's why it stopped! We fixed it in the time loop!" she screamed out.

Rika nodded her head shakily. "Y-Yes, we fixed it. But… but… Hanyuu, analyze that Hinamizawa for me, please!" she begged, clasping her hands together desperately and sitting up high on her knees, as if doing that would increase Hanyuu's chances of saying yes.

"You do not need to beg, Rika. I'll do it now," Hanyuu responded, pushing down on Rika's head to seat her back down. Rika settled back on the ground, though her look of panic did not diminish. "Now, listen carefully…"

Hanyuu took a deep breath, and then, she began to speak. "Mion's world. Sonozaki Mion invites her friends over for a game tournament over in Okinomiya. The game tournament is cut off, and in the end, no one wins. Prizes are handed out to each of the club members besides Sonozaki Mion. Maebara Keiichi receives a doll with beautiful, flowing blonde hair. Maebara Keiichi hands it over to Ryuuguu Rena despite the fact that she had already received something from the store as a prize, saying that he thought about giving it to Sonozaki Mion but didn't because he felt as if it wouldn't fit her as she was not like a girl one bit. Sonozaki Mion gets upset over this, and slowly grows a little jealous of how Ryuuguu Rena can act like a girl but she cannot. Finally, she snaps and comes to the conclusion that she must kill them otherwise Maebara Keiichi would never notice her or pay any attention to her, believing that Ryuuguu Rena, Houjou Satoko, or Furude Rika could be in love with him or the other way around. In the end, she kills everyone but Maebara Keiichi, though he ends up dying in the gas disaster," Hanyuu explained, recalling the events of that one, forgotten world. "…The reason why this world never occurred again was due to the fact that you told her to talk to a friend about the incident with a doll. When this happened, Mion remembered it in the following Hinamizawas. This is what created Shion's world. The chances of the world happening because of the doll is now zero percent, but…" Hanyuu paused. "The chances of her snapping because of jealousy for any other reason is sixty percent…"

Rika grew alarmed at the mention of such a gigantic number. "Sixty percent?" she repeated, her voice filled with disbelief. "That's ridiculously high!"

The goddess nodded gravely. "I'm afraid that it's probably going to happen since we did see the glowing eyes and all…"

The miko bit her lip, her hands rested on the sides of her head. She could have stopped this if she had realized this back when Hanyuu analyzed the worlds. If Mion was jealous, it was probably over Keiichi. She could have told her that no one else liked Keiichi and that she had no reason to be jealous of anyone, but now, it was too late.

"We can still try to stop it, if you want," Hanyuu suggested. "Just go up to her and assure her that she's the only one who likes Keiichi. Oh, you can also ask Keiichi if he likes Mion. If he does, tell him to confess!"

Rika was sure Mion liked Keiichi as she had confessed her strong feelings for him loudly several times in world in which she snapped. On the other hand, she had heard nothing about Keiichi returning these feelings. If he really did like her back, she could convince him to go confess and stop the tragedy from happening. Perhaps that would be enough to stop Mion's true form from being unleashed.

"Good idea," Rika said. "I'll try that out tomorrow."

~~~~X~~~~

"…And that's the end of the tale," the Green-Eyed Demon said, having finished telling Mion the tale of Sonozaki Ayame.

Mion wasn't sure what to make of the tale at first. Sonozaki Ayame, the head of the Sonozaki family hundreds of years ago, went insane because of the pride she held for the Sonozaki family. What did that have to do with the Green-Eyed Demon and her jealousy? It didn't make much sense to her. The whole time, Mion had remained squashed against the wall, still a little scared from the revelation. By now, however, she had stopped shaking and was slowly peeling herself away from that wall.

"I do not understand," Mion spoke, rubbing her sore back, "how does this have anything to do with me? Not only that, but how does this have anything to do with _you?_" She

The Green-Eyed Demon smirked, her robes meant to conceal her identity now shed. She was wearing a white kimono, decorated with many different patterns. It was the same one she owned. "What do you mean, how does this have anything to do with you? It has everything to do with you. Were you not listening to what Ayame told Rion at the end of the tale?" she growled, her pointy fangs slightly visible through her face, morphed into a scowl.

That was right. She said that twins should never be born into the Sonozaki family as one of them would be born a demon. "But that doesn't make any sense. I'm the younger twin, really. Me and my sister switched places when we were little," she pointed out. "So shouldn't she be the demon?"

The Green-Eyed Demon narrowed her eyes. "You fool. She said that one of them would be a demon. That does not necessarily mean that the first-born will be a demon. It's just random, and you were the one who was born demon," she growled, clearly irritated. "Your twin sister… No, our twin sister is human. We are demon. It is unfortunate, but that was the way we were born. We just got unlucky," she spoke.

Mion herself was rather annoyed with this demon that claimed that her name was Sonozaki Mion as well. She was certain that she wasn't a demon. If she really was, then why was she only finding out about it now? And if the Green-Eyed Demon was really who she claimed to be, then how the hell would she that she's a demon?

The Green-Eyed Demon cackled, once again reading her thoughts. "I told you before! I'm the personification of everything you have forgotten and everything that you refuse to admit. Now, you figured out that you were a demon a while ago. However, you forgot about it. No, that's not it. You refused to believe that you were a demon anymore and banished this side of you, creating me, the form of you that is demon combined with any other emotions you decided to throw away. Then you forgot about me. Do you understand, or do you have any questions?" she lectured her, pacing back and forth.

Mion raised an eyebrow. "That seems rather complicated. Besides, I'm not a demon," she spoke. "How can I tell that the story you told me is true? And how can I tell that you haven't just morphed into my form and are trying to trick me?" she pointed out, deciding that she'd be cautious with this demon from now on. Demons were tricky, and she did not know what kind of powers they possessed. It was possible that the Green-Eyed Demon in front of her was just making this all up on the spot.

A sigh came out of the Green-Eyed Demon's mouth, no longer concealed by that hideous mask. "This is what I mean by you denying it. In any case, you do not seem to be cooperative right now. Perhaps you should be heading on off to bed. I will leave you alone for the night, but I will come back," she spoke. And with that, for the first time in days, the Green-Eyed Demon faded from sight.

~~~~X~~~~

**Crimso's Corner**

**I bet you all have a lot of questions now. And now, I'm going to clear up some confusion you might have. **

**One thing you might be wondering is why it's nighttime in the scene with Mion and why it's just after sunset in the scene with Rika. They take place at different times; I just combined them into the same chapter one after another because they are very similar. Well, in the sense that they just learned about the story of Ayame. I know, it might seem a little confusing to you. Sorry about that. I-I just kind of put that in without thinking...**

**If you have any questions about the Green-Eyed Demon's relationship to Mion, ask me now. I tried to explain everything as best as I could, but alas; sometimes I cannot explain myself well. I'm sure we've all had times when we were unable to explain something. So, message me or ask me in a review and I'll clear that up for you. Obviously, the Green-Eyed Demon's relationship to Mion is an important plot point and we cannot have anyone not understanding important plot points. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask me as well. I'm open to answering any question as long as they aren't about things that have yet to be unveiled (Like if Keiichi is gonna confess or not.)**

**Now, I'm going to apologize for the short chapter. As with all transition chapters, it's short (Well, Return to Hinamizawa aside). The next chapter will probably be short as well. Actually, I'm going on an overnight trip on Thursday and cannot write then or Friday. So, I'm trying to see if I can fit two chapters in today and tomorrow. I have no homework today and tomorrow due to us going on the overnight trip, so I can easily write up that chapter in a day. No promises, though. You shouldn't really take my word for anything. You know I tend to break my promises with you guys. Crimso is not a person you can trust very well, sadly. Oh well, the stuff that I have planed out for that chapter should satisfy you enough (Hehehe...). Anyways, let's move on. Thank you to _The Minister of Silly Walks_, _Devi_, and _PantheonFefnir_ for reviewing! As I stated before, here is your box of Crimso Cookies! I promise you, they are good. If you review this chapter, I'm handing out Crimso Badges of Approval, which are shiny and crimson. For pointing out typos you find, I will give you a plushie Madoka. They are very cute and huggable. They don't eat you or tear your guts out, thank god. Also, they are given out if you see any grammatical errors and inform me of them. Plushie Madoka is also available if you find a typo in any previous chapters and inform me of them in a review for this chapter. I like to make my story look a little more appealing :P. A huge thanks to my best friend in real life who pointed out some typos in previous chapters. Conversations had tons of typos. I bet you Go Fish! Had some too... I need to go reread my chapters. **

**OUT.**

**~Crimso**

**P.S: If you are wondering why I like putting rewards in for reviewing, it's because it's fun coming up with different rewards. I also like rewarding people. It makes me feel like a nice person.**


	25. Chapter 24: Storm

**Yo readers. I'm in Spanish Class again. I shouldn't be on the computer but I'm done with my work. A lot of my teachers also teach the grade above me and have left with them on an overnight trip, so we basically have nothing to do (even though my Spanish teacher only teaches my grade). So yeah, we're just being bored all day. I figured I'd write as much as possible today and see if I can get this chapter up (I doubt I can, though). Yeah, we also have an overnight trip. So yeah, no work for us to do. I hardly have any classes on Wednesday anyways…**

~~~~X~~~~

As usual, class was rather boring for the club members. All of them sat at their desks, completely engulfed in their work. Mion had yet to finish that essay she had promised she'd do, but right now, Chie had forced her with a pile of math homework until she finally got the hang of doing her work correctly. Not that it mattered, anyways. As the Green-Eyed Demon had said, she came back the very next morning and was now watching Mion carefully, examining every single stroke she made with her pencil. Mion did not see the reason why the Green-Eyed Demon needed to be so watchful of her. Why would she care if she got a math problem right or wrong?

Meanwhile, Rika was outside, practicing for the upcoming Watanagashi festival. She had convinced Chie to allow her to practice for the Cotton Drifting ceremony during class as she had finished up the art project she had been assigned and had no work to do in class. Though in truth, she didn't really need the practice. She had practiced far enough during the endless June that occurred a year ago for her to forever burn the ceremony dance into her mind. She was sure that she'd never forget it, no matter how long she lived for. The Watanagashi festival was to take place in two days, so she couldn't waste any time. Right now, she was using a mop in place of a hoe, swinging it around like it was nothing. The mop felt like almost nothing compared to the hoe. Whenever she held that hoe, she felt as if she'd collapse under its weight.

The door to the classroom opened, and out stepped Keiichi. He wiped his bangs away from his forehead as he felt the hot sun begin to beat down on his figure. "My gosh, it's gotten hot," he commented.

Rika dropped the mop she was carrying. "Oh, Keiichi! You're late! I told you to meet me out here ten minutes after I started practicing!" cried Rika, slightly irritated by Keiichi's disobedience.

The boy rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. "Yeah, I'm sorry, Rika-chan, I wanted to finish up the paper I was writing and it took a little longer than I thought it would," he explained, grinning slightly as if to soothe the girl's slight anger.

Rika simply sighed. "Whatever, it doesn't really matter. I need to talk to about something. It's really urgent," spoke the miko, her voice serious.

Keiichi blinked, curious as to what Rika needed of him. She looked down slightly, going over what she needed to ask him. She knew it would be a strange thing to ask, but she had to if she was to break through fate early before anything bad could develop. "Okay Keiichi, this might be a weird question, but I want you to answer it truthfully," she said to him.

Keiichi nodded, not sure what to expect. "Alright, I'll answer it truthfully."

That's when the young miko looked up at him straight in the eyes, and opened her mouth. "Keiichi, do you like Mion?"

A very noticeable blushed appeared on Keiichi's face, almost as red as a tomato. "W-What? N-No I don't!" he denied, looking away to try to hide the blush he knew was plastered all over his face.

Rika frowned instantly, seeing his blush very clearly. "Keiichi, you are blushing. Please do not lie to me, this is something that is very serious," she spoke, sounding serious, though she did not switch to her adult tone.

Keiichi wasn't sure what to say. Should he just admit here that he was in love with Mion? Why would Rika need to know something like that anyways? When Rika spoke seriously, it meant that something was wrong or something was about to go wrong. Something like that probably couldn't be serious, right? So if he lied, would it really matter? Yet, at the same time, Rika was acting as if this was really serious. If this were really a dire situation, then it would be better if he just told the truth. "…Yeah… I like her," Keiichi admitted, a warm blush on his face as he thought of the smiling face of the girl he loved so much.

A small pang of hope filled Rika. "Then, Keiichi, could you possibly tell Mion that? It's very important that you tell her," the blue-haired miko requested. "Please, Keiichi."

"B-But I can't!" yelled Keiichi automatically. He hadn't even thought about Rika's words when he had said that. After those words came out, he thought about whether or not he should confess. He had considered confessing to her before and actually managed to tell her that he loved her once, but ended up messing up because he had said it so quickly. After that, his plans of confessing his love to her had completely shattered. He hadn't even considered the idea of trying again. But now that Rika was bringing up the topic, why not?

Rika narrowed her eyes, angry at his response. "Why can't you, Keiichi?" she asked. If he would just confess, perhaps everything could be avoided.

"Um, sorry, I guess I wasn't thinking. But… I doubt that Mion likes me, so…" he explained.

"She loves you!" Rika cried out, speaking the truth. "She's completely and utterly in love with you, Keiichi! She told me how much she loves you! If you just confess, the two of you can be happy together!" Rika could feel frustration in her body. She didn't understand why Keiichi couldn't just confess to her. Then again, Rika was a child who had no experience with love, so there was no way she could understand how hard it was for a person to confess their love. "So please, just tell her! And tell her soon!" begged the young miko.

Keiichi froze. Did Mion really like her as much as Rika was saying? It wouldn't be odd if Mion had told Rika about her feelings for him (if she had any at all, that was). But seeing how desperate she was, Keiichi decided to reconsider the idea of a love confession. She wasn't sure why she wanted him to confess so badly, but why not?

"…Watanagashi," Keiichi spoke, "I'll tell her on Watanagashi."

Rika's eyes widened with happiness. "Keiichi!"

Keiichi nodded. "I'll tell her then, definitely. You can count on me!"

~~~~X~~~~

A scar of thunder crashed against the dark sky, illuminating the land for a few seconds. Soon, the light created by the crash faded, causing pitch black to fill the sky once again. Droplets of rain splattered against the ground seemingly without end. A roar of thunder followed the lighting strike, rumbling throughout the village. The ground seemed to shake with the echoes of the thunder.

A figure encased in soft blankets sat in an empty room, shivering with each strike of thunder and roar of lightning that shook the land. She was breathing heavily, fearing the commotion outside.

But it was not just the storm that she feared. Right now, the thunder and lightning could not compare to the terror that was standing directly in front of her.

The Green-Eyed Demon looked down upon the lump, her malicious green eyes gleaming from the bright lightning. Her breaths were heavy, able to be heard in between roar of thunder. Her mouth was partially opening, showing off the length of her sharp, white fangs but did not reveal their sharp points. She narrowed her eyes, just waiting for the figure beneath the shield of blankets to crawl out.

"Perhaps you should go to sleep," the Green-Eyed Demon suggested, "tomorrow is the day before the Watanagashi. You are expected to help set up the last few stands as the Sonozaki heiress," it reminded her.

Shaking of the head came from within the blanket coating. With her two greatest fears around her, there was no way she would get a wink of sleep. Another rod of thunder struck downwards from the sky, followed by the rumbling of thunder.

The Green-Eyed Demon raised one of her emerald eyebrows. Blue light emitted through the windowpanes, lighting up the feminine figure belonging to the Green-Eyed Demon. Her eyes shined with the bright light, creating an ominous feel to her. "Is that a no? You should think that over a little," the Green-Eyed Demon murmured.

"Please leave me alone, I won't accept you," a muffled voice came from underneath the mountain of soft fabric. "I am not a demon, and you are not Sonozaki Mion."

The Green-Eyed Demon sighed a sigh barely able to be heard underneath the constant thunder. "We are very stubborn, aren't we? It would be better for you if you just accepted this side of you… this side that you have cast away," she spoke, her voice sounding somewhat melancholic in contrast to her normal psychotic voice. "Besides, if you do so, you will be able to have Kei-chan…"

Despite the situation she was in, a light blush appeared on Mion's face at the mention of the boy who had took her heart. "I don't need to be a demon for Kei-chan to love me. Instead, I think it's just the opposite. No one loves a demon," she whispered.

The Green-Eyed Demon's expression did not change. She remained looking serious and stern, something rare for a demon like her. "If he truly loves us, he wouldn't care about our species," she spoke. "You should love people for who they are, not what they are." The Green-Eyed Demon paused, allowing the next crash of thunder to interrupt her. "Would you love Kei-chan if he were a demon?"

Mion nodded. "Y-Yes… I'd love him even if he was a deranged monster," she answered.

"Then, why are you so worried? Just accept yourself as the Green-Eyed Demon and everything will be better. You can destroy those pests who have been separating us from our love," she said.

Uncomfortable shifting could be heard through the thunder. "I can't accept something that's not me," she murmured. Lightning broke through the sky once again, revealing layers of clouds unseen through the darkness. "So leave me alone."

The Green-Eyed Demon's cool and collected façade suddenly disappeared, as if the lightning strike had shattered it into pieces. "Oh, but I am you!" she cried out in a fit of madness. "And I will not leave you alone until you accept me as a part of yourself!" her psychotic laughter that followed was so loud that it overlapped the next roar of thunder that shook the village of Hinamizawa.

Mion covered her ears with her hands, trying to block out the sounds of the two things she feared more than anything else. The laughter of the Green-Eyed Demon was horrifying to the ear. _I just want it to stop… I don't want to hear that laughter anymore…_

The Green-Eyed Demon folded her arms over her chest, smirking. "Rena and Etsuko. Those are the two that have made your life miserable. They are both after Keiichi and Keiichi is probably more interested in them, yes? Seeing as they are much more girly than us… and much more beautiful," she spoke, almost sounding sad as she spoke those last few words. For as second, Mion was shocked that the Green-Eyed Demon understood her so well. Then, she shook off the feeling. She couldn't think about something like that.

"They are not pests. They are both my friends," Mion replied.

"Oh, they're your friends, eh?" the Green-Eyed Demon sneered, almost in a mocking manner. "Etsuko is your friend even after saying Rena was more fit for Keiichi? Even when she said all those mean things to you during the camping trip? How odd," she chuckled.

Mion recalled the unpleasant memory of being confronted by Etsuko. On that day, she had felt anger like never before rise up inside of her. Not only that, but strangely, at that moment, she felt as if she was gaining power with every taunting word she spoke. It was an odd sensation, now that Mion thought about it. She had been too overpowered by her own emotions when she was in that moment to recognize such a sensation burning throughout her entire body. Now, she was wondering what that sensation was.

"…That was your demon side wanting to come out," answered the Green-Eyed Demon, looking into the girl's thoughts and reading them as if they were written on a sheet of paper. "That was the sensation you were feeling. Your demon side wanted to crush that girl into a pile of mush."

For a second, Mion felt as if that was really the correct answer. Then, she realized that she was trying to deny whatever the demon said, not accept it. She pushed whatever thoughts she had that were related to accepting the demon out of her head. "No, that's not true. I'm… I'm not a demon…"

The Green-Eyed Demon decided to take a seat. She sat herself down on the rather uncomfortable wooden floor, cupping one of her exposed cheeks with her hand. "Oh, more with the whole 'I'm not a demon' thing? Please, it's getting annoying," the demon growled. "Just listen and accept yourself. Besides, if you aren't a demon, then what was the sensation you felt at that moment?"

Mion paused, trying to come up with a good excuse. She had become so focused on denying the demon that she had forgotten all about the storm raging outside. Never had she been able to free herself from her fear of thunder and lightning before. "It wasn't anything. I was just angry," grumbled Mion.

The Green-Eyed Demon frowned. "Whatever you think it was, I know the truth. And some day, you'll grow to realize it, too," it spoke.

And with that, the conversation died for the rest of the stormy night.

~~~~X~~~~

Keiichi sat in his room, finishing up his homework. His lamplight was on, as it was pitch black save for the strikes of thunder that would occasionally light the sky. Chie had decided to give him a bunch of math assignments and as he spent a good amount of time talking to Rika, he had been unable to finish the sheets. Luckily, math was not a hard subject for him. He dashed through the problems with ease, having no trouble solving the equations writing everywhere on his sheet.

A very loud roar of thunder echoed into his room, causing him to drop the pencil he was grasping. He had never heard thunder so loud in his life. Shrugging, he continued to go through the problems until he finished them all.

Once done, Keiichi sprawled himself across his futon, listening to the continuous thunder. At that moment, he remembered the time when he and Mion had hid in a cabin due to her fear of thunder. On that day, he had held her in his arms and gave her warmth and protection. Blushing, Keiichi began to wonder if Mion was okay. Was she hiding underneath the blankets of her futon as she had done when they were in the abandoned cabin? He didn't quite understand her fear of thunder, as that was something quite childish to fear. However, at the same time, he respected it. She had told him that the fear originated from trauma as a kid and that she couldn't seem to shake the horrible memory off.

Keiichi pulled the plug of the lamp, causing it to flicker off. He crawled into the warm sheets of his red futon and rested his head on the pillow. _Mion,_ he thought, the one name echoing in his mind repeatedly. He thought about the time when he had first met her a year ago. She had been the first of the club members to introduce herself to him.

_"Hello! The name is Sonozaki Mion! It's a pleasure to meet you. Can I call you Kei-chan?"_

Then, he thought about the time when she first allowed him into the club. At that time, Keiichi had considered Mion to be a male forever trapped in the body of a female. Now, however, he knew better. Mion was most certainly a female in terms of her body and her personality. The him back then couldn't see that.

The next time he thought about was when Mion tried to take Takano's bullet for the club. He truly admired how brave she could be, even when she was facing death.

Lastly, he thought about the camping trip. He remembered the time where he and Mion had almost kissed, only to be interrupted by Etsuko. This caused the young male to blush and bury his head into his pillow, embarrassed by the memory. If only Etsuko hadn't interrupted. Maybe things would be different between them.

~~~~X~~~~

"It's really raining outside, huh…"

Hisao stood with his face to the wall, his hand pressed against the glass that separated him from the raging storm outside. A flash of lightning lit up the outdoors, causing him to flinch. "Y-Yeah, it's not going to clear up anytime soon," he commented, attempting to peer into the pitch black outside.

On the floor sat Etsuko, who had rudely intruded on Hisao's privacy without asking. She wasn't doing anything; she just found it fun to talk to her brother whenever she got the chance to. He was the only person she could trust, after all. She had invaded Hisao's futon, playing with its sheets and preventing the boy from going to bed anytime soon. "Oh, it doesn't really matter. I like the rain and the lightning. It's cool," she commented, pulling at a lose strand on the futon.

Hisao looked at his sister out of the corner of his eye, not removing his hand from the cold windowpanes. "Do you really think that? I… I-I think it's kind of scary. I-In a way…"

Etsuko frowned. "Only stupid people are scared of thunderstorms. DO you want to be a stupid person?" she asked, glaring at him with purple eyes.

Hisao shook his head instantly. "N-No… I don't want to be a stupid person."

Etsuko's frown formed into a smile upon hearing her brother's response. "Good, I didn't think so."

The black-haired boy sighed and looked back out at the storm. He could just barely make out the trees being swayed violently by the strong winds that were blowing across all of Hinamizawa. He could have sworn he just saw one of the branches snap off the tree outside. He felt relieved that he hadn't been trapped outside there or anything like that. The warmth of his home felt extremely comforting at this point in time.

The string Etsuko had been pulling on snapped off. She dangled it in front of her, poking at it, bored. Sighing, Etsuko through the strand away and looked for something else to do. Hisao wondered why Etsuko felt the need to stay in his room despite there being noting for her to do in it. It was irritating, really. Hisao was growing tired and needed his rest.

"Hey, Hisao. Why don't you change into your night clothes?" Etsuko suggested.

"I… can't b-because you're in my futon…" Hisao pointed out shakily. Never once had he called her out for bothering him when he needed to go to sleep. He had felt too scared to call his sister out for anything. God knows what she'd do to him.

Etsuko's reaction was not very pleasant. She narrowed her eyes at him, growling slightly. "What was that?" she spoke, sounding very displeased. "I just wanted to talk to you for a little it longer. I was talking about getting changed later."

Hisao jumped, scared by his sister's reaction. "Er… okay, talk to me now then. I want to go to sleep soon, Nee-chan."

Etsuko patted the space next to her, signaling for Hisao to come and sit next to her. With a quick nod, Hisao obeyed, settling down onto his futon's sheets. For a moment, none of them said anything. Hisao was waiting for his sister to say something so that he could go to bed and be ready for school the next day.

Finally, she spoke. The words that came out of her mouth, however, were ones that Hisao did not want to hear.

"…Soon. It'll be very soon until my plan takes place," she spoke.

As soon as those words left her mouth, a crash of thunder roared from outside followed by a bolt of lightning striking down. Hisao froze to his futon, unable to speak any words. He didn't want to think about his sister's plan right now. Whatever she had in mind, Hisao wanted nothing to do with. Unfortunately, there wasn't much he could do about that. Etsuko was practically forcing him to do whatever she wanted for her own needs and wouldn't allow him to protest. He never wanted anything to do with her and her little scheme from the beginning. Especially sense that plan involved…

"Stop it, Nee-chan," breathed Hisao, "I don't want you to hurt Rena-chan."

That was enough to set Etsuko into a rage. First, her eyes narrowed with displeasure. Second, she said, "I see. You've been disobeying my orders, haven't you?"

"I-I haven't been disobeying any orders!" Hisao responded. "All I said was that I didn't want my friend to get hurt!"

Etsuko's fierce expression did not change, however. "Yes you have been. Clearly, you have been," she spoke, her tone as cold as ice. "I believe you made a promise to me. You promised that you wouldn't get close to anyone, no matter what. You have broken that promise and disobeyed my orders," she hissed. "Don't hurt Rena, you ask? Nonsense! This is why I told you not to get close to anyone!" snapped Etsuko. She stood up and walked closer towards her brother, an expression of pure anger painted across her face. "Everything has been set in stone, Hisao. Nothing can be changed now. This is your own fault," she hissed.

For a moment, Hisao was scared of his sister. He had always been a little scared of Etsuko, ever since the day he first saw her. She was staring down at him, a look of hatred in her eyes. He had already known from the beginning that he had broken that promise he had made to his sister. How was he not supposed to get close to anyone? Things like getting close to people just happened. It wasn't like he had any control over his feelings for people.

"Tell me, Hisao!" roared Etsuko, "are you in love with Rena?"

That's when something snapped inside Hisao. He realized that he couldn't let his sister gain control of his life. Why should she care if he got close to someone? Because it would mess up _her_ plans? What did that mean for him, then? Would he forever rot in life under the rule of his sister? At that moment, he knew. He couldn't allow her to rule over him any longer. He couldn't allow her to decide whether or not he would be friends with someone and to decide how he would live his life. She was controlling him, ruining his life for him. He knew that he had come to Hinamizawa with his sister so that he could help her carry out her plans, but now, something had changed. He didn't want to help her. He wanted the happy days with Rena and all the club members to continue on, and there was no way he was going to let his sister take that all away from her.

"Yes!" cried Hisao, all his fear of his sister now gone, "I'm in love with her! And there's no way I'm letting you take her from me!"

Etsuko had never been so angry before in all her life. With all her power, she raised her palm into the air and slapped Hisao across the face. Hisao resisted the urge to wince or to fall over in pain. He had to stay strong. Instead, he stood his ground, trying not to look like he was in any pain at all. Etsuko was a little surprised by this, but shook that emotion off instantly. "You stupid idiot! Why the hell did I even bother with you, anyways? You're no help to me! You were never any help to me! You are just a hindrance to me!" she yelled. "And you know what, Hisao? I wonder why I even took you in after that whole incident where Hajime died. I wonder why I did that. You should be lucky I did that, Hisao. You'd be no one without me, no one!" she bellowed.

Hisao practically implanted his feet into the ground, resisting the urge to cower in fear of his sister. He could let her words get to him. He didn't care about how Etsuko thought about him anymore, after all. She was no longer the only person in his life.

Etsuko took a deep breath, trying to control her emotions. She shut her eyes tightly and clenched her fists, holding back any violent thoughts she had. "This might seem a little harsh, Hisao, but I'm going to speak the truth," Etsuko spoke, her tone now much calmer. "I hate you, Hisao! I've always hated you. I don't know why I took you in when you lost your memories. I hate you so much!" she snapped. "I hate you more than anyone I have ever met! I hate you more than anyone else in this entire _world_!"

Hisao was a little shaken by how harsh her words were, but he knew he had to remain calm. So what if Etsuko hated him? He hated her back.

"It's all your fault!" screamed Etsuko. "If it weren't for you, he'd still be alive! It's your fault! You screwed up my life!"

Hisao couldn't help but let his eyes grow a little wider with her words. What was she saying? He couldn't understand the reason for her hate. It clearly had to do with Hajime's death… but that was a topic that Hisao had almost no knowledge on. He didn't remember it. He didn't even know if he was even _there_ when he was killed.

No. He couldn't let this shake him up. With his fists clenched, he looked into the enraged purple eyes of his sister, and spoke. "I hate you too, Nee-chan! You screwed up _my_ life. You've been trying to control and manipulate me for so long now! And I hate it, Nee-chan! I'm fifteen years old; I'm not a little kid! I can handle my life for myself. You can't go deciding what I'm going to do in life like you're my parent or something like that!" he snapped. All the words just seemed to flow out of his mouth naturally. When he stopped talking, his breaths labored from speaking so quickly, he found that he was surprised with his own words. He never imagined that he would say words so rude and full of hate before.

Etsuko growled, her face looking slightly shaken by Hisao's hate-filled words. "That's enough, Hisao! Get the hell out of my house!" she yelled.

Hisao didn't even try to protest. As fast as he could, Hisao grabbed his backpack and stuffed his clothes inside and whatever other belongings he could find. He slung the backpack over his shoulder, giving his sister one last look. "Gladly," he spoke. And with that final word to her, Hisao kicked the door open and left.

Only when he got outside did he remember how terrible the weather was. Now, he was stuck outside with no kind of protection from the rain. Not only that, but he could not see a thing outside. He waited for his eyes to adjust more to the light and looked around the area. Where was he to go, now?

Hisao scampered through the rain, looking for some kind of shelter. The now muddy pathways of Hinamizawa were only lit by the strikes of lightning that occurred every so often. He used this to find his way around the village. He didn't care where he stayed the night; he just needed a place to sleep. Perhaps he would find a new home someday. Right now, all he wanted to do was be away from that awful sister who had controlled him his entire life.

The rain was beginning to soak through his clothing. His hair had already absorbed tons of moisture. Strands of black hair lay plastered against his forehead, draping over his eyes. This only added to difficulty to see and his will to find shelter for the night.

He didn't even know where he was anymore. His steps slowed as he tried to identify the area he was standing in through the darkness coating the town. Breathing heavily, Hisao glanced around at his surroundings. He could just barely make out the large shape of the Furude Shrine. Now knowing where he was, Hisao ran into the forest that lay just behind it. He knew exactly where he was going to stay that night.

It was rather dangerous for a person to run in such a thick forest while there was lightning, but Hisao didn't care anymore. He just had to shield himself from the wind and the rain. He pushed his way through the trees as fast as he could, determined to get away from danger and to shelter as soon as he could. A low branch scraped against his shirt, cutting it along with his skin. He growled a little at the pain, but tried to ignore it. He had more important things to deal with than a single cut across his arm.

It took a while, but Hisao managed to get out of the forest before anything wore than a cut arm happened. He found himself in front of the Saiguden, a building he knew he wasn't supposed to enter. But right now, he couldn't be picky. The Saiguden was certainly a creepy place, but it would offer enough shelter for him for the night. He ran up to the door, easily breaking the lock that held the door shut. He pulled it open, stepping inside. Instantly, he felt the comfort of not having thousands of raindrops pattering against his back.

However, the Saiguden wasn't a very comforting place, otherwise. All the torture equipment lining the walls as well as the cages that hung from the ceiling instantly frightened him. He had known Hinamizawa's past had been violent from Etsuko, but actually seeing all the torture tools was very shocking. There were many different types of knifes that hung from one of the walls, more kinds than he had ever seen before. He didn't know why they needed so many different types. Couldn't one knife just do the job?

He lay down on the ground, deciding he wouldn't worry about such matters. There was no way anyone was going to break in and kill him, so there was no reason to be afraid of the tools. He curled up into a small ball, resting his head on his backpack. He wasn't sure how long he was going to stay here for. He certainly didn't want to see his sister again any time soon, and he knew that if he went to school she'd be there. _I guess that means I'm stuck here until Watanagashi,_ Hisao realized.

With a sigh, he closed his eyes. He needed to get some rest. Even if it was next to impossible here, at least keeping his eyes shut should prevent him from getting too tired during the day. Besides, he probably wasn't going to school anyways. Slowly, he felt himself drift away into a deep sleep…

~~~~X~~~~

**Crimso's Corner**

**Hey guys. This chapter was supposed to have an extra scene, but I decided I'd add it into the next chapter and have there be an extra chapter. I was planning on skipping to Watanagashi, but I felt as if that wouldn't be right. It would feel like I was missing something for some reason. Besides, we've skipped too many days already. I pretty much lost track of time, so I made it two days before the Watanagashi because there is nothing more than happens in between where Rika and Mion hear of Ayame's tale and this chapter. Besides, I wanted to update today and I'm not sure I can if I added in another scene. So sorry about that. I hope the whole Etsuko and Hisao scene was satisfying enough for you. It was pretty dramatic, after all. And sorry if you don't like HisaoXRena. I hope you guys don't mind me pairing Rena with an OC :P. I know a lot of people don't like CharacterXOC, so. I know that I certainly don't like it in most cases (In MOST cases. I've seen good OC ships.)**

**By the way, my B key is pretty much broken. I copied the letter b and pasted it whenever I needed to use it. Annoying as hell, I know, but there's not much I can do to fix the key. I'll take it to the tech center as soon as I can. Seriously, writing with a broken key is not fun. **

**This edition of Crimso's Corner is very short, I know. I'll just say here that, as you know, I won't be able to write Thursday or Friday. Next chapter shouldn't take too long despite that, though. As usual, you shouldn't trust me on that one :P. I break my promises too often.**

**I feel like this chapter is too short. I apologize for making such short chapters recently. There's not much I can do about it when there's not much that happens in a chapter.**

**Oh yeah! Be sure to review as usual! Reviews are amazing and I LOVE reading them. Madoka plushies are still available for pointing out typos or grammatical errors, by the way. You can say anything you want in reviews. How you like the story, predictions, point out typos, anything. Just say you like the story and I'll be happy. **

**OUT.**

**~Crimso**


	26. Chapter 25: Fear

**Hey guys! Seeing as you're reading this, you've probably realized that I have returned! Yay! A whole bunch of stuff happened that I want to tell you guys about, but I'm saving that till Crimso's Corner at the end because I'm sure you guys just want to get to reading this chapter. Before that, however, I want to say that I am astonished by all the reviews I got! And I mean that in a good way, by the way. Seriously, I don't think I'd be writing this now if it weren't for all the reviews. You guys really encourage me to keep writing, so I encourage you to keep up with the reviews! Sound like a deal?**

**All right, now I think I'm going to save the rest for the Crimso's Corner of this chapter. So yup, let's get moving.**

~~~~X~~~~

Maebara Keiichi was asleep, barely feeling or sensing his surroundings. His eyes felt heavy, and for some reason, he couldn't seem to open them. His eyelids felt like lead, unable to be moved even when his body commanded it to. He soon gave up trying to open his eyes and simply lay there, deciding it would be better to sleep for a little while longer, anyways. After all, sleeping was one of his favorite hobbies.

His sleep did not last very long. A large rumble of thunder roared through the area around him, causing him to jolt up. How was it still thundering? He had never been in a thunderstorm that had lasted from the time he went to sleep to the time he woke up. Besides that, he hadn't even felt any rain. Keiichi rubbed his eyes, yawning. He had to get up; otherwise he'd be late for school. The moment he opened his eyes, however, he realized that the area he had been sleeping on was certainly not his room or any place resembling it. He had been lying in a meadow, covered with flowers and other planets. Confused, Keiichi pulled himself to his two feet to look around the area. The peaceful atmosphere of the meadow was diluted by the ominous storm clouds coating the sky in a thick, gray blanket. The sun was unable to be seen. Giving the ground another quick scan, Keiichi noticed that the grass covering the meadow was swaying violently.

Rain pattered onto his hair and rolled down brown strands. The rain was very harsh, and in a few seconds, he was almost completely caked with rainwater. _I need to get out of here. Where's shelter?_

Keiichi glanced about the meadow. There were no shelters able to be seen within the area. If there were any, the constant rain falling down to the sky shrouded them and obscured them from view. A bolt of lightning ran across the gray sky as Keiichi began to run through the seemingly endless fields. No matter where he ran, he felt as if he was seeing the same scene over and over again. Rain trickled down his chest as he continued his futile searches for shelter. There was absolutely nothing in the meadow save for endless grass and flowers.

After a few minutes, Keiichi gave up on his search for any kind of shelter. He sat down on the wet grass and lay there, thinking. How in the world did he get here in the first place? He was sure to catch a cold if he stayed here any longer. Yet, at the same time, he knew all search for any kind of shelter was hopeless. He sighed as he rolled in the green grass, unable to find anything to do with himself. By this time, his whole body was soaked. His clothes clung tightly to his body. It was getting rather uncomfortable to wear them. With a sigh, Keiichi removed his shirt and held it above him, using it to shield him from any more rain. That was the best he could do for now.

Suddenly, a whimper sounded out from nearby, almost unable to be heard underneath the sound of heavy rain. He shot his upper body up, looking around to find the source. Was someone there besides him?

Keiichi pulled himself on his two legs with his hands. He slung his shirt over his shoulder, finding no more use for it. It didn't really work well as an umbrella. Keiichi found himself wandering about the meadow, attempting to find the source of the noise. With the loud rain and the roars of thunder, it was almost impossible to find the source. He considered the option of just giving up. What good would it do to him if there were someone else there? It's not like they could cover him or anything like that. With a sigh, Keiichi's footsteps slowed down. He trudged through the grass, unable to find anything in it.

Then, he felt the tips of his toes ram into something. It was a rather odd object that Keiichi was unable to identify just by touch. It certainly didn't feel like a rock or anything similar. Curiosity got the best of Keiichi, and he looked down to see what the object was.

"M-M…Mion?" he stuttered in disbelief.

Keiichi was shocked, to say the least, when he realized that the object he had rammed into was in fact Mion. She was huddled up in a ball, sobbing slightly. The clothing she was wearing was painted with water. As a roar of thunder sounded out, Mion hugged herself tighter. She too seemed to have given up on finding shelter and was now lying down in the thick grass, her hair almost blending in with the green grass that decorated the meadow. A small tear trickled down from her eye, almost unable to be distinguished from the rain that was constantly pattering down on her body. Like Keiichi, her clothing was hugging her figure tightly, causing the young male to blush intensely.

"M-Mion? Are you alright?" he asked her.

A green eye peaked open. "K-Kei-chan? Is that you?" she spoke. Her body did not move. She was so petrified by thunder and lightning to the point where she couldn't even quiver.

Keiichi nodded. "Yeah, it's me. What are you doing in the meadow like this?" he asked her.

"…I… couldn't find shelter anywhere," she spoke. "K-Kei-chan… I'm so afraid…"

Keiichi sat on his knees and looked down upon the green-haired girl lying in the grass, completely paralyzed by fear. He blushed a little more as he got a closer look at her. Her figure was clearly visible through her tight, wet clothing. Shaking, Keiichi held out a hand for the green-haired girl to take. "Take my hand, Mion," he instructed her softly.

The young Sonozaki was almost unable to move her hand, but she mustered up enough strength just to grasp onto his wet hand with her own. Slowly, Keiichi pulled her upwards on her knees. "There's no need to be afraid, Mion," Keiichi spoke.

A giant bolt of lightning lit up the dim sky, causing Mion to jump in alarm. She quickly covered her ears with her hands, not wanting to hear anymore of the thunder and lightning. Her whole body shook with fear. A single tear drifted down from her eye and dripped down on the ground like a raindrop. Keiichi couldn't help but grow a little protective of the girl in front of him. Sure, thunder and lightning was a childish thing for her to fear. But Keiichi didn't want to say that to her. He had had a small phobia of thunder and lightning when he was a child, too. Without thinking, Keiichi wrapped his hands around the green-haired girl's shoulders and pulled her to him, though their chests did not touch. She whimpered a little and pushed herself closer to him. Keiichi couldn't help but let out another blush when he felt her large breasts press against his bare chest. He quickly shook off that blush, though as he looked down on her lovingly. He began to run his fingers through her wet, green hair in an attempt to comfort her.

"Don't worry, I'm here now," Keiichi spoke. Mion found that Keiichi's words soothed her fear in just the slightest. She nodded and pressed her head against Keiichi's.

An unexpected rumble of thunder sounded out, echoing across the endless meadow. In a panic, Mion grasped onto Keiichi and pulled herself as close as she could. She buried her head into his neck, sobbing a little.

"Shh… it's okay. I'll protect you," whispered Keiichi, rocking her body in their embrace. She seemed to calm a little, though she let out a small whimper from fear. Keiichi continued to run his fingers through her soft, wet hair, hoping that it would comfort her just a little. "The thunder will stop soon, so please…"

Mion shifted a little, but said no more. On the inside, Keiichi hoped that he was doing a good job of comforting her. He realized that Mion would probably kick his butt when the storm was over for treating her as if she was some kind of weak person, but for now, he decided it was best just to comfort her and keep her warm.

Perhaps he wasn't thinking, but the next thing Keiichi did caused even him to become shocked. He wrapped his arms tighter around Mion and pulled her down with him. Slowly, he rolled over so that he was on top of her, staring down at her stunned green eyes. He pressed his body to her closely, feeling every detail of her figure. He flustered when he realized the suggestive pose they were in, wondering why he had done such a bold act. "I'm going to shield you from the rain," he explained to her so that she didn't get the wrong idea.

Mion herself blushed when she caught sight of the half-naked Keiichi. She hadn't really been paying attention to his appearance when she had seen him, as she had been too afraid of the thunder to notice. "Y…You… You're really muscular, Kei-chan," she commented.

"Er… I guess," murmured Keiichi, unable to find any other words to say to her. He mentally slapped himself for being so rude to a girl. Now was not the time to act like a fool. He had to keep her warm and safe. He pushed himself closer against Mion, if that was even possible. He felt a little like a pervert for doing something so bold, but he ignored that thought. Right now, Mion's safety meant more to him than anything. They two of them would probably catch a nasty cold from being outside in the rain so far.

No words were exchanged between them afterwards. Keiichi simply thought to himself about the girl that lay beneath him, gazing lovingly into her green orbs. She was the most beautiful creature that he had ever seen. He wanted nothing more than to have her for his own. Yet, at the same time, he knew that that was probably impossible. She probably didn't like him back. But, then again, it was worth asking her. Things could only get better if he confessed. If she didn't like him back, he could move on. And if she did, then they could live together happily. _No, I can't move on from Mion so easily,_ Keiichi realized, staring at the green-haired girl. _I… I love her too much just to move on like that._

But at the same time, he knew. He had to tell her soon. Besides, Rika told him to confess.

Mion grew a little red from seeing Keiichi gaze at her with intense amounts of affection in his blue eyes. She averted her eyes from him, causing Keiichi to frown a little. Did she not like him gazing at her like that? Seeing that action made Keiichi a little upset. He reached his hand out to touch Mion's chin, bringing her eyes back to his. She looked a little confused by his actions, but he did not let that bring him down.

He continued to look into her green eyes filled with confusion with his blue ones, filled with love for the green-haired girl beneath him. And then, he opened his mouth to speak those words he had been dying to speak for so long.

"…Mion, I love-"

~~~~X~~~~

"KEIICHI! WAKE UP OR YOU'LL BE LATE FOR SCHOOL!" bellowed a voice coming from downstairs.

"…You?" Keiichi finished. His blue eyes shot open in confusion. His clothing was perfectly dry and he was certainly not located in the meadow. He was in his futon, dry in his home. He glanced about his room, clearly confused.

Letting out a sigh, Keiichi allowed himself to fall back on his futon. "A dream, huh?" he sighed. He was a little embarrassed to admit that he wished it hadn't been a dream. After all, he and Mion had been so close together in that dream. A tomato red blush formed on Keiichi's face at the thought. The dream had felt so real. He could have sworn he felt Mion's body pressing against him. It certainly hadn't felt like a dream when he had been in it. Of course, he should have been able to figure it out from the beginning. Why would he be in a meadow in the first place?

Grumbling, Keiichi got out of his futon. He pulled out his school clothing from his closet and changed out of his nightclothes, all the while thinking about the dream he had. Should he confess to Mion like Rika said? He had promised her that he would do it, but he wasn't so sure. Mion didn't seem to show any clear signs of liking him. _No, I shouldn't let her down. After all, Rika predicted Takano trying to kill her and everything. I think she's trying to prevent something bad from happening. I can't see what could happen from not confessing, though._

With a sigh, Keiichi walked down stairs and gobbled up his breakfast, all the while thinking of the girl he was in love with. He felt upset the more he thought about that girl. _She probably doesn't love me…_

Keiichi trudged down the muddy paths of Hinamizawa, not even thinking about where he was going. He almost failed to notice Rena waiting for him at their usual meeting spot. He would have completely passed by her if it weren't for her calling out to him.

"Keiichi-kun! Good morning!" she called to him, waving her hand. The brown-haired boy didn't seem to notice her, as he walked on with his hair covering his eyes. He looked upset for some reason that Rena couldn't point out. It was a beautiful day, so why be upset? The only thing that seemed to be bad about the day to her was that the pathways were covered in mud from last night's storm. Otherwise, the day was beautiful. Was there really a reason to be so depressed on a day like this? "Keiichi-kun! Good morning!" she repeated.

Once again, Keiichi failed to notice the orange-haired girl. He walked along the pathway, kicking the mud as he went along. He felt as if nothing could cheer him up besides seeing Mion's smiling face once again. Come to think of it, when was the last time he had seen her smile? Mion had been acting really funny recently. He hadn't seen her smile in days. Now he remembered that he had spoken to Rika about Mion's strange behavior several days ago. Did him confessing have anything to do with her behavior? If so, did that meant that…?

"Keiichi-kun! What's wrong with you today! I said good morning!" Rena practically screamed at the boy. This caused him to break away from his thoughts and snap his head over to the orange-haired girl waving frantically to him. Rena frowned when she saw Keiichi's upset expression, growing a little curious as to why he felt so upset on such a wonderful day. "Ah, Keiichi-kun finally responded! Hello there, Keiichi-kun!" she spoke. She decided it would be better not to ask him. She shouldn't intrude on his personal affairs.

"Hello, Rena," Keiichi responded, his voice sounding a little robotic. "How are you?"  
Rena smiled. "I'm fine, thank you!"

The two of them continued down the paths of Hinamizawa. Mud clung to their footwear as they stomped through it. The storm had done quite a bit of damage, as a few branches from trees now lay broken in the muddy pathway. The higurashi cicadas didn't seem to mind, however, as they buzzed happily while flying from tree to tree. This reminded Keiichi of that fact that the Watanagashi was to take place tomorrow. And that reminded him of how he promised Rika that he was to confess his feelings to Mion.

Sighing, they continued to walk until they reached their next meeting point. The twins both stood there, waiting for Rena and Keiichi. Shion looked annoyed for some reason that Keiichi could not point out, and Mion just looked emotionless. She was staring at nothing. If Keiichi looked hard enough, he could see a little fear in her eyes. He brushed it off as being fear from last night storm, though. "Hello there, Mion, Shion," Keiichi greeted.

"Hello, Kei-chan," they both spoke in unison. However, the tones in which they spoke were different. Shion sounded happy and cheerful while Mion sounded depressed.

Rena titled her head to the side. "Mi-chan seems down today," Rena commented.

Mion said nothing, however. She was indeed feeling a little down. The storm that had occurred last night had only added to her trauma from being stalked by the Green-Eyed Demon. She had barely gotten any sleep, as usual. Mion was slowly growing used to not getting any sleep and was now used to running on an hour of sleep a day. There would be times where she didn't even get sleep for a few days.

Rena, Shion, and Keiichi started walking on ahead, chatting with each other happily. Unbeknownst to them, Mion was still standing behind, watching them with jealous eyes.

"I wonder what Keiichi and Rena do when they're walking to school?" the Green-Eyed Demon commented, unable to be seen by anyone besides Mion. "Maybe they kiss or do other romantic things?"

This time, Mion didn't try to argue with the Green-Eyed Demon. Mion figured she was probably right on that one.

~~~~X~~~~

School was boring, as usual. Mion sat at her desk, tapping it with her pencil, bored. She didn't want to even bother with her math problems. There was no point in asking Keiichi, as he was busy helping Etsuko and Rena. She let out a sigh as she watched the three; envious of the attention Rena and Etsuko were receiving. Why couldn't Keiichi teach her as well? She usually had more trouble with math problems, anyways.

Keiichi, on the other hand, was getting a little sick of having to teach people constantly. Rena had already demonstrated a great understanding of different topics, so why did she need him to constantly help her with math? It was a little annoying, but Keiichi ignored whatever thoughts he had that were negative towards his friends. Right now, he had other issues to be concerned with.

"…Where's Hisao-kun?" Rena asked suddenly.

Etsuko looked a little alarmed for a moment, but she quickly brushed that off her face. "Oh, he's sick today. I don't know when he's going to get better," she lied.

Keiichi frowned a little. "Well that's too bad. Do you know if he's going to be okay? You know, since the Watanagashi is tomorrow," he said.

Etsuko shook her head. "I don't know if he's going to be okay. I hope he'll be able to enjoy his time with you guys at the Watanagashi, though. It would be terrible for him to miss his first Watanagashi festival."

At that moment, Keiichi couldn't help but grow a little suspicious. He had already been informed of the fact that Etsuko was from Hinamizawa, but what about Hisao? Was it really his first Watanagashi festival? Then again, Hisao did lose his memories a few years ago. It was completely possible that Etsuko was lying and saying that his was his first Watanagashi. There was also that time when Keiichi asked about Hisao's role seven years ago and received no response. Was there some reason why Etsuko didn't want to respond? Though he did feel as if Etsuko was lying when she said that Hisao was sick. He seemed to be perfectly fine the day before. There were a lot of questions he had concerning Hisao and Etsuko's relationship, but he felt as if it would be rude if he asked her.

"I hope Hisao-kun will be okay, okay," spoke Rena. Keiichi could see visible upset in her eyes. She looked very worried for the black-haired boy's wellbeing. Now that he thought about it, Rena and Hisao were really close, weren't they? They were often hanging out with each other and Hisao would only really talk to her. He had joined the club but he never spoke to Keiichi. He seemed to be of the shy sort, so Rena was probably the perfect person for him to talk to. Then again, her take-it-home mode might be a little scary for him.

Keiichi nodded in agreement. "Yeah, then we can't have the Watanagashi club activities with all of our club members. And we can't have that, now can we?" he spoke, looking over towards Rena.

Rena nodded. "Yup! We do it every year with EVERYONE! It's always so much fun, fun!" she cried out, throwing up her arms in the air for emphasis. "Then again," she added, "Rena has only been here for two years…"

Keiichi laughed. "Oh, don't worry about that, Rena! I've only been here for ONE year!" he joked. "I mean, at least you've been here for an extra year!"

Etsuko grinned sheepishly. "Well, I've only been here for zero years, so," she spoke. Keiichi and Rena both laughed at this joke even though Keiichi knew that it wasn't true. Surely she had seen previous Watanagashi festivals when she lived in Hinamizawa.

Rena smiled. "Well, the Watanagashi is great! Provided that you don't get the punishment game. Mi-chan can be sadistic at times!" she spoke, remembering each and every one of the punishment games she received.

Keiichi laughed at that. "Oh yeah, Mion won't be nice with punishment games on the Watanagashi festival! You can trust me on that one!"

A chorus of laughter broke out from the three friends. Mion watched as the three of them continued to joke around. It was painfully obvious that they weren't doing any schoolwork. Chie was busy reading a book on the history of curry and did not seem to notice the loud laughter that echoed through the classroom. Mion couldn't really tell what they were talking about as she had mentally blocked out most of their conversation, but she was beginning to get the idea that Keiichi was growing a little too close to Rena and Etsuko. It sure looked like that to her, anyways. Maybe the Green-Eyed Demon was right. Maybe they really were trying to steal Keiichi from her.

The Green-Eyed Demon smirked with satisfaction. She was sitting on Mion's desk with her hand cupping her cheek as she watched both Mion and the group of friends laughing at the table. Mion was finally beginning to accept her. "I bet you anything that they're both in love with Keiichi," the Green-Eyed Demon remarked.

Mion nodded. _Yeah, I think they are in love with Kei-chan._

"Oh, Rena!" Keiichi spoke, interrupting their laughter. "I need to speak with you alone for a little bit. Just you and me, okay? I need to tell you something."

Rena titled her head to the side, curious. "Okay, Keiichi-kun. Whatever you need!"

The two of them stood up and exited the classroom, leaving Etsuko to finish up her work. Mion watched as the two friends exited the classroom. _Yeah, friends_, Mion thought with a sigh. What were they doing? People would usually say such a thing when they wanted to confess their love to someone. Was that what Keiichi was doing now? Was he confessing his love to Rena? Mion felt heartbroken. He was really in love with Rena. He wouldn't ever love her. Rena and Keiichi would fall in love, get married, and perhaps have a few kids. And all she could ever do was watch them as a friend. Mion stood up from her seat and ran out of the classroom. Once again, Chie failed to notice. "I got to go to the bathroom," she lied to her confused sister. She made her way down the hallway, holding back whatever emotions she had. She found it rather hard to contain them, however. She kicked open the door to the girl's bathroom, hoping that no one was inside. Luckily, it appeared that no one else was there besides her. She ran into one of the stalls and slammed the door shut, locking it.

After that, she let all of her emotions out. She sunk to the floor and hugged herself. Then, she began to cry. _He doesn't love me,_ she thought, tears streaking down her cheeks. She attempted to wipe them away with her hand, but found that she could not. There were just too many. She gave up the attempt to stop herself from crying and buried her head into her knees. Uncontrollable tears fell onto her knees and rolled down her legs. _Kei-chan… I love you so much. I love you more than anything else in the entire world. So why, why don't you love me back?_

The Green-Eyed Demon looked down upon the girl with a large frown. "It's all Rena's fault, isn't it? If it weren't for her, perhaps he'd love you."

Once again, Mion didn't deny the Green-Eyed Demon. She was too upset to think about the demon in front of her. She was just being a nuisance right now. Besides, the words she spoke were probably true.

Back outside, Rena and Keiichi stood parallel to each other. Keiichi looked down at the ground, kicking pebbles with his feet. How was he to phrase this? He wasn't sure how to admit such a thing to her. It was rather embarrassing, really. He wasn't sure how Rena was to react, either.

"Rena, I need your help with something," spoke Keiichi. "I'm in love with Mion and I don't know how to tell her."

Delight spread across Rena's face. "Finally!" she cried out. Then, she did a little dance out of pure happiness. "Keiichi-kun and Mi-chan make such a cute couple! I've been waiting for you to fall in love for ages, ages!"

Keiichi blinked at the girl's strange behavior. "Er… can you help me, then?" he said, not knowing what else to say. He didn't know Rena was going to have such a strange reaction. Seeing someone so happy over two people finding their love for each other seemed strange to him.

Rena nodded. "Of course I'll help you, Keiichi-kun! After all, Mi-chan likes you too!" she cried out.

Keiichi looked unsure. Rika had said the same thing to him. Was it really true, then? Did Mion actually like him? "Okay, so how do I tell her? I was planning on telling her at the Watanagashi tomorrow after Rika's performance… but I just don't know how to phrase it."

The orange-haired girl smiled. "It's really easy! Just say that you've been in love with her for a long time and describe to her how much you love her. I'm sure Mi-chan will be delighted! She loves you so much, you know," she said with a wink at the end. Keiichi seemed a little confused. Was Rena really telling the truth or was she just playing with him?

Rena began to picture images of Mion in Keiichi in her head. She imagined them kissing, and then she imagined them on their wedding day. Then, she pictured the cute children that they'd have when they'd grow up. Would they look like Mion, or would they look like Keiichi? Maybe they'd have green hair like their mother and blue eyes like their father. The idea was just too much for Rena. She had never pictured so much cuteness before. Steam began to rise out of Rena's head as she fell over with a projectile nosebleed.

Keiichi stood there with a shocked expression, his jaw practically touching the ground. What the heck was she thinking about? "Rena! Snap out of it!" he cried out as he ran over to the girl lying on the floor. Her face was completely red and her whole body was shaking. At that moment, Keiichi couldn't help but feel a little confused and worried. Why was Rena acting like this? Was she sick or something?

Suddenly, Rena shot up. "HAUUUU! I WANT TO TAKE MI-CHAN AND KEIICHI-KUN'S CHILDREN HOME WITH MEEE!" she cried out. Keiichi's eardrums began to ring. Her voice was even louder than the thunder last night! Then, Keiichi processed what Rena had just said.

"Wait a moment, Rena! Mion and I don't have any children! We aren't even married!" he cried out, embarrassed by such an idea.

Rena didn't seem to hear him, however, as more thoughts began to pop up in her head. "I wonder if Mi-chan and Keiichi-kun would have a boy or a girl? I wonder, I wonder!" she practically screamed out. "I think they'd have a girl that looks like Mi-chan and a boy that looks like Keiichi-kun! Hau! Mini Mi-chan and Mini Keiichi-kun! CUTEEEEE!"

Keiichi had to take a few steps away from the crazed girl in front of her. He had never seen her this obsessed with something cute. And this cute thing she was obsessing over didn't even exist! A sweat drop formed on his forehead as he watched the girl obsess over the idea of him and Mion getting married and having children. _This girl… is really strange._

"So, will you help me?" repeated Keiichi, trying to break away from the awkward topic Rena was bringing up. Just the topic of him confessing to Mion was awkward enough. He didn't need to talk about having children right now. Rena instantly snapped out of her thoughts and glanced over to Keiichi. She looked perfectly sane for a few moments, as if she had returned to normal. Unfortunately for Keiichi, she certainly hadn't.

"OF COURSE!" Rena cried out. "I'll help Keiichi-kun! Just ask me anything and I'll help you with it!"

Keiichi smiled. "Thank you, Rena."

~~~~X~~~~

As soon as school ended, Rika made her way to the Saiguden. As usual, she needed to record what had happened during the day. Not much had happened that day. However, she decided it was necessary to record every single little detail that popped up. Due to this, the book was almost overloaded with her writing. After figuring out what was happening to Mion, she had written almost ten whole pages of theories. She didn't know if anyone was ever going to read it, but she wanted to make sure that everything stayed down in Hinamizawa history forever. This was a story that needed to be shared with the villagers of Hinamizawa for centuries.

As she went up to the Saiguden, she noticed something very strange. The lock was unlocked. "Hanyuu, someone broke in again!" she cried out in alarm.

The invisible goddess looked at the lock, inspecting it closely. "You're right! Someone has been inside here! Again!"

Rika practically tore down the door to the Saiguden. What did the intruder do now? Were they looking at more books? In that case, she needed to find what books they had read. Perhaps she would find more as to what was happening to Mion. She had a pretty good idea, but that idea could be wrong.

What greeted her inside shocked her. On the floor lay Hisao, hugging himself tightly. His backpack lay next to him, looking as if it was about to explode. It seemed to be stuffed with a whole bunch of things. Rika raised an eyebrow, confused. What was he doing here? "Hisao! What in the world are you doing here!" the Furude demanded. She was more confused than mad. It didn't look as if he had stolen anything from the Saiguden. Everything was in place on the walls.

The boy jumped up, startled. "Furude-san! I'm sorry!" he cried out.

Rika gave a glance to Hanyuu before returning her vision to the boy on the ground. "Don't you know that only Furudes are allowed inside of here?" she asked.

Hisao nodded. "I know that! I know that very well!" he spoke. "I'm sorry, please forgive me! I can explain everything to you!"  
Rika calmed down a little bit. The box containing all the books was tightly shut. It didn't look as if anyone had gone digging through it since yesterday. She slowly walked up to the black-haired boy on the ground and sat down in front of him. "Can you please tell me then? I'm not mad at you… so don't worry. I'll only be mad if you have stolen something," she spoke softly.

The boy nodded. At first, he did not say anything. He needed to think about how he was going to explain this to the Furude. He didn't want to give anything about Etsuko's scheme away to her, as much as he wanted to. Otherwise, Etsuko would surely kill him. "Okay, so it goes like this. Ur… well, I got mad at Nee-chan. Then, she told me she hated me and she kicked me out of the house. It was raining, and I needed to find some shelter. This was the first place that came to me. So… now I'm here," he explained to her. Of course, he had left out many details. He didn't include the parts about Hajime and such. Those were private matters and sharing them would surely get him killed.

Rika frowned. "Is that why you weren't at school today?" she asked him.

Hisao nodded. "Yeah, I didn't want to show up. I'm afraid that Nee-chan would have hurt me or something."

Rika let out a large sigh. What was Etsuko doing? She had been the one that had broken into the Saiguden in the first place. Was she planning on doing something? If she really was planning on something, Hisao would probably know about it. There was probably a lot more to his story than what he had shared with her. "Hisao, can you tell me about your sister? I know she broke into the Saiguden a few days ago. Katashi told me," she requested.

Hisao looked a little surprised. He surely wasn't expecting her to know about that little incident. "Well, I can't tell you about that. Nee-chan will get very mad and me and she'll surely kill me for sharing. I suggest that you ask her yourself if you want to know. I… I doubt she'll tell you, though," he spoke.

The Furude frowned. "Wait a moment, she would kill you if you told me?"

Hisao nodded his head. "Yeah, she probably would."

There wasn't much point in squeezing out any more information. For now, Rika gave up on the idea of asking Hisao about Etsuko. She knew that she wouldn't receive any information judging by the way he was acting towards the matter. Instead, she wandered over to the box located in the corner of the Saiguden. She opened it up and took out the book with the blank title that she had been writing in. She pulled out a pencil from one of her pockets and began to write down what had happened.

_Not much happened today at all. I caught Mion watching Etsuko, Rena, and Keiichi while they were having a nice conversation. When Keiichi asked Rena if they could talk alone, Mion looked very upset for some reason. Moments later, she ran out of the classroom claiming that she needed to use the bathroom. Shion seemed to fall for this and didn't chase after her sister. Besides that, school was boring. I practiced the Watanagashi ceremony a little, but that's it. As if I need anymore practice!  
On the other hand, I caught Hisao in the Furude Shrine. He said that Etsuko had kicked him out of their house after yelling that she hated him. I tried asking for further details, but I received none. I am beginning to grow a little suspicious of Etsuko. What is she trying to do? Why did she break into the Saiguden? It doesn't make any sense to me. Hisao wouldn't explain, either. He simply told me that if he said anything Etsuko would kill him. I don't want anything bad to happen to him, so I'm going to leave it at that._

_ Tomorrow is the Watanagashi. I am wondering what is in store for my friends and me. I'm worried. Keiichi promised me that he'd confess but I do not believe him. I have a feeling that he won't. He seems to the type of person who'd chicken out of confessing. I don't understand why. Is love really that complicated?_

_ ~Furude Rika, June 1984._

Rika set her pencil down and closed the book shut. It was no longer covered in dust as Rika had been using it so often. She threw it into the box carelessly and then shut the top. With a sigh, Rika allowed herself to sink down against the old, brown box. She had a lot to think about and a lot to worry about. The Watanagashi was coming, and that was usually around the time where everything went wrong. After the Watanagashi festival, there was usually no chance of fixing a world. Right now, she feared for the worst.

"I'll let you stay at my place. You can sleep downstairs," Rika spoke.

Hisao's head perked up. "Wait, what? You really mean that, Furude-san?" he said, his voice hopeful. There was no way that he wanted to stay in Saiguden another night. It was extremely uncomfortable, especially when there was hundreds of elaborate torture equipment lining the walls.

Rika nodded. "Sure thing. Just remember to sleep downstairs and not in my room."

That was probably the best solution right now. She couldn't allow him to stay in the Saiguden for any longer. Besides, she needed to respect her ancestor's wishes and prevent anyone who wasn't from the Furude family from going inside the Saiguden. She had already let too many people trespass on the shrine's grounds.

Hisao grinned. "Thank you so much, Furude-san!"

"Welcome," Rika responded.

The Watanagashi Festival was tomorrow, and now, Rika feared for her safety. Now she knew. Something big was coming. Something that she had never seen or experienced before was coming. She could just sense it in the air. And now, she knew. This Watanagashi was to be the bloodiest that had ever occurred in all of Hinamizawa and Onifaguchi.

~~~~X~~~~

**Crimso's Corner.**

**Okay, I'm going to quote myself from Chapter 11 and say that you are probably thinking "what the hell, Crimso! NOTHING happened!"**

** I know! I know, okay, I know! I am aware that nothing happened in this chapter. However! The next chapter is the Watanagashi festival and things are sure to happen! I added that foreshadowing in the end to prove it! No more build up. From the next chapter on, things are going to get serious. I'll promise you that. I never thought that it would take me so long to get to this point. When I first wrote this, I was expecting it to be around 15-20 chapters. Well, now we're at Chapter Twenty-Five and that's a good five chapters above what I said. Now, I'm going to make another prediction. 30-35 chapters. Yes, that sounds about right. I haven't done calculation, so. I need to sort out what's going to happen in the next few chapters in my head so it's not so confusing to me. I hope you are all looking forward to what I have in store for you all. I'm looking forward to writing it for you all! Oh yeah, about this chapter. I realize Rena got a little worked up about the idea of Mion and Keiichi together. It might be a little strange, but I'm sure we're all guilty of doing it, too.**

**Okay, so let's start talking about life. My trip was great. Well, sort of. I believe I've said before that I hate most of the people in my grade, yes? Well, I'd like to say that again if I have. If I haven't, now you know. I don't know how I survive staying with them for seven hours a day. The highlights were that the food there was amazing. I was expecting it to be terrible, but no. I was blown away by how good the food was. I'm very picky with food. The cabins were nice, too. It was like a mini hotel. My room was next to the teacher's room, though. I hope they didn't hear my friends and I chatting. I brought Higurashi with me, by the way. I know, I'm lame… but. On the bad side, the people on my bus forced me to watch the Hannah Montana movie with them. No offense to you Hannah Montana fans, by the way. I personally can't stand her. It was torture. The teachers were trying to come up with some way to say no to them watching it, but they're just too nice. Sigh. Oh well, that's hardly anything. They were acting annoying during the whole time we were actually there, too. By the way, the reason why this wasn't uploaded earlier was because we had a pretty bad situation at the end of the trip. One of the buses got stuck in the mud and we had to wait an extra two hours for them to tow it out. Yeah, so we arrived home really late and that killed a lot of my writing time. I am sorry. I really am! See look, I'm sorry! *gets down on knees*.**

**That's enough about that. I want to have the next chapter up soon, so it should be up soon. Oh yeah, thank you to those of you who pointed out typos. Ayame plushies are now available to people who point out typos. Particularly in this chapter as Spell Check broke down on me and isn't working for some reason. *kicks spell check*. Reviewers get to spend a free day at the Crimso Beach in Crimso Land. It's a cool place, I promise. I also added a FAQ section on my profile, just cuz. If you need any clearing up on anything about this fanfiction, please message me. If you want to ask me a question, message me. I'll answer.**

**This is getting too long. I am ending this.**

**OUT.**

**~Crimso**


	27. Chapter 26: Watanagashi

**Ugh. Worst day I've ever had. Period. I feel like I've started out a chapter by saying the same thing but… oh well. This was the worst day. Never mind that, let's get reading (or writing, if you are me).**

~~~~X~~~~

Cries of joy could be heard about the village of Hinamizawa. Every villager of every age was gathered at the Furude Shrine for one special occasion. This was the one and only festival in Hinamizawa, and it was one to be celebrated by everyone. This was the Watanagashi Festival of Hinamizawa. It took place the third Sunday of every June, and this year was no exception. Everyone was in the joyful mood fit for a festival like this.

Well, maybe not everyone.

Furude Rika, clad in her miko outfit, stood in the middle of the crowd and watched everyone as they went by. Everyone else seemed to be so happy. So why couldn't she be happy? The answer was simple. Tonight, something bad was going to happen. She wasn't sure exactly what, but she knew that it was something to be feared. Behind her stood Hanyuu, invisible to everyone besides the young miko. She was looking at her friend's face with a grim expression. She had expected the previous Watanagashi to be the last one they'd spend in fear. Now, she gazed upon her friend who wore a solemn expression on her face.

"It shouldn't be long until your friends arrive," spoke Hanyuu. "I think I might have seen Rena a few seconds ago."

Rika nodded to her friend but said nothing more. Usually, they'd already be at the Watanagashi. So what was taking them so long to arrive? She didn't quite know. Perhaps it had something to do with what was to happen later that night. Mion was the one Rika needed to be the most careful of. After all, if Rika's theory was right, she was probably transforming into her true form. That was certainly a thing to be feared. All she knew was that Satoko had run off to use the bathroom and Hisao had locked himself in their house. He said he was to come out and explore a little later, but Rika wasn't entirely sure of that.

Hanyuu sighed as she looked around for any of the club members. She had long ago stopped trying to convince Rika that there was nothing to worry about. She knew better now. There was definitely something they had to worry about.

"Ah, Rika! There you are! I was looking for you!" called a familiar voice. Rika whipped around, eager to see whom it was. Houjou Satoko came bounding throw the crowds, pushing away any older person who got in her way. It was rather busy and cheerful among the grown-ups. Seeing how happy everyone was only made Rika feel a little grimmer, however. This only reminded her of the fact that Oyashiro-sama's curse had gone forgotten by most. There was not one adult that seemed to have a speck of fear. "You could have at least told me where you would be when I left for the bathroom!"

Rika faked a grin. "Mii, I'm sorry, Satoko. I should have thought of it."

Satoko laughed a little bit. "It's alright, Rika. I don't mind that much," she spoke. "Oh, by the way, Hisao told me that he'd be here in a few minutes. He just wanted to organize his stuff a little bit."

She nodded. So, that meant he really was going to the festival? That was a bold thing for him to do considering that he didn't even go to school yesterday. His sister would surely be at the festival grounds. After all, who in Hinamizawa would miss the Watanagashi festival? It was something that every villager enjoyed. After all, they never got a chance to party besides on this one day.

Suddenly, Rika felt an unsuspected girl embrace her tightly. She quickly felt her legs being lifted off the ground and her whole body being shaken like she was a stuffed animal. "Hau! Rika-chan looks so cute in her miko outfit! Rika-chan always looks cute in her miko outfit!" the girl who could only be Rena cried out. Rena nuzzled the surprised girl with her cheek and began to speak words too fast for Rika to even identify. They were probably ones describing how cute Rika was and how she was going to take her home.

"Please don't do that, Rena-san!" pleaded Satoko, clasping her hands together. "Rika has suffered enough!"

Rika frowned at Satoko's words. Rena's need to take her home every time she saw her was the least of her sufferings. She had gotten used to Rena's behavior within her first few days in Hinamizawa but that didn't mean that she didn't find it rather annoying at times. Rena reluctantly let go of the young miko, causing her to almost stumble over when she landed on the ground. She couldn't afford to have her miko outfit ruined at this time. People would probably laugh if she went on stage in a dirty outfit.

"Hau, where are the others, where?" spoke Rena, glancing about the festival's merry grounds.

Satoko shrugged. "I bet the little peasant is at home getting dressed or something like that. I think the trap I set for him ruined his clothes. Mion-san and Shion-san are probably walking here together," she guessed nonchalantly. It was something that she wasn't very concerned about, to be honest. She figured that they'd appear eventually. Rika, on the other hand, was taking this as a very bad sign. She had to assume that everything was a sign towards what was going to happen tonight. Otherwise she wouldn't be prepared when it happened.

"Ah, Hisao-kun! There you are!" cried a very excited Rena. She instantly abandoned the two young girls to go up and greet the black-haired boy who had just arrived. He seemed to have recovered from the trauma of being thrown out of his own house and having to stay in the Saiguden for a whole night. Rika was a little glad about that. There wasn't a chance of him catching Hinamizawa Syndrome from an incident like that if he had recovered from the shock. Usually, traumatic moments could be a grave sign.

Hisao blushed a little at the sight of the cheerful girl bounding up to him. "Oh, hey, Rena-chan," he spoke, not able to find any other words.

Rena stopped for a moment. She began to glance about Hisao's body as if she was a security guard checking for weapons. "Hm, it seems as if Hisao-kun is better today! I don't see any sign of him being sick! Nope! Rena is glad that Hisao-kun managed to make it out to the festival," she spoke, smiling. "Rena was afraid that Hisao-kun would miss his first Watanagashi. She really was!"

Hisao chuckled a little bit. "Don't worry, Rena-chan. I promised myself I wouldn't, so…"

The two friends talked a little bit, catching up with each other. Every time Rena asked about his health he'd make up a lie that he had caught an awful cold that seemed to have faded away when he had woken up. Rika had told him sternly not to speak a word about the incident with Etsuko. Such matters were to be kept a secret. Obviously, she had told Satoko as there wasn't a way to avoid it but otherwise none of the club members knew about Etsuko and Hisao's little fight.

Rika let out a sigh as she glanced about the festival ground once again. There was still no sign of the others. Oh well. She'd just have to wait, then. It shouldn't take them too long.

~~~~X~~~~

Keiichi pulled on his shoes and burst out of his door as fast as he could. He had been working so hard on his math homework that he had almost forgotten about the Watanagashi Festival. In a rush, Keiichi sprinted as fast as he could down the dusty pathways of Hinamizawa, still slightly muddy from the storm. Footprints from his shoes were left behind, a large gap in between each one. He took large but quick strides as he hurried over to the Furude Shrine. If he were late, Rika and the others would surely punish him.

He nearly tripped over in the mud but managed to hold his ground. If he showed up covered in mud, everyone would surely laugh at him. It would be the highlight of the festival. Well, not for him, of course, but for the others. Mion took every single chance she got to pester and make fun of Keiichi. All the same, Keiichi was in love with her. Nothing could change that. He found Mion's teasing funny and playful. Without her, he would have never become the person he was. He would still be a depressed, young boy who only cared about his studies.

"Hey, Keiichi-kun! Heading to the festival?" a voice from up the path called out to him. The voice was a rather high-pitched one, yet very feminine at the same time.

"Oh, hey Etsuko," Keiichi spoke as he identified the girl by her very noticeable pink haired tied into two pigtails as usual. "Is Hisao okay now?" he called out to her.

Etsuko seemed a little shaken by the question, but Keiichi couldn't really tell as he was far away from her. "Er, yeah. He's fine. I bet you he will be at the Watanagashi. I told him that it was up to him whether or not he'd be there. So yeah, I don't know if he will be there or not," she spoke, rubbing the back of her head. Keiichi took note of this behavior, as it seemed a little strange. Etsuko had always been a suspicious person to him. He had been suspicious of her intentions since the night where she told him about Hisao's memory loss back during the camping trip.

Keiichi raised one of his brown eyebrows at the girl's explanation. "Oh, I see. Well, I hope he comes then. We can't have a club member not there for the Battle of the Evil… um… how many people are there this year?" Keiichi spoke. He had to hold up his hand and count on his fingers. One for Mion, two for Shion, three for Rena, four for him, five for Rika, six for Satoko, seven for Hisao, and eight for Etsuko. Keiichi felt a pang of sadness in his heart when he remembered Hanyuu. She wouldn't be here to enjoy the festivities. "The Battle of the Evil Eights."

` Much to his surprise, Etsuko began to laugh. "Ahaha! That sounds like some kind of intense battle! But as you said, the punishment game is doubled, yes?"

Upon hearing those last few words, Keiichi's heart sank. When was the last time they had club activities? Keiichi couldn't even remember. Mion just hadn't been herself recently. While punishment games were something that Keiichi hated, he couldn't help but miss the idea a little (though he didn't miss dressing up as a maid, that was for sure).

Etsuko blinked at him confusion with purple eyes. "Wait a moment, Keiichi. You look like you're upset for some reason," she commented, pointing to his face.

Keiichi washed that look off his face with a huge, fake grin. "Oh, it's nothing. Shall we walk on?"  
She nodded, and with that, the two of them continued on their way to the festival grounds. Cheers from joyous villagers filled the air and drifted to the two teenagers, causing them to get a little excited for what was up ahead. What sorts of games were there for them to play? Keiichi was sure that they'd have the usual shooting gallery. He'd probably lose that one as usual. Mion was usually the victor of that one as she had a lot of practice with guns. Although that didn't mean that Keiichi himself wasn't good. He could use guns as well. _Like I did… back then._

Eventually, the two of them came to the cheery grounds. They had to push their way through the thick crowd in search of all of his friends. They could be anywhere. _Gee, they should have at least set up a meeting point. That would be nice._

After a good ten minutes of pushing, the dark blue hair that could only belong to Furude Rika greeted Keiichi and Etsuko.

"Ah, look! It's Keiichi-san and Etsuko-san!" cried Satoko as she pointed a finger at the two figures that stood behind the unsuspecting Rika.

All at once, three pairs of eyes settled on them. The purple eyes of Rika looked up into the blue eyes of Maebara Keiichi. For some reason, her eyes looked rather eerie. She was clearly not enjoying being in the center of hundreds of Hinamizawa villagers and Okinomiya citizens. Yet, at the same time, that didn't seem to be the only reason why she was upset. Keiichi couldn't quite put a finger on it, but Rika looked somewhat off. Today was the Watanagashi Festival. Shouldn't she, the Head of the Furude Family, be cheery? After all, this was an event that only took place once a year. It was not one to be spent in sorrow.

"Hey, guys," he greeted them, smiling. "How are you all?"

Satoko placed her hands on her hips. "We were waiting an eternity for you to arrive! What took you so long? You shouldn't keep a young lady waiting!" she scolded him, waggling her finger.

Keiichi averted his eyes. "I don't see any ladies here besides Rika and Rena!" he spoke innocently, knowing very well that it upset Satoko every time he did that. It was rather fun for him to tease Satoko, as she did it to him so often. Despite that, they were still very, very good friends.

Satoko stamped her foot on the ground. "What did you just say!" she demanded, clearly angered.

Rika frowned, glancing at her friend out of the corner of her eye. "Satoko, Keiichi was just joking with you."

Satoko looked embarrassed for a split second, but brushed that off in a matter of half a second. "I know that!" she snapped.

Every club member laughed. Everyone except Hisao, that was. He stood there, staring at his sister with slight fear in his eyes. Rika stopped laughing as she noticed the two of them looking at each other uneasily. She knew what had happened between them, mostly. She just hoped that they could make up. Shion and Mion often had sibling spats and stopped talking to each other for a few days though they always ended. Surely Hisao and Etsuko would make up with each other.

Speaking of which, where were Mion and Shion?  
All of the club members found themselves glancing around for any sign of the duo of green-haired girls. Perhaps they had gotten caught up with family matters. However, Rika couldn't help but feel a little off. Something was happening with Mion involving transformation into a demon. Did she take Shion as a victim? Rika shuddered at the thought. She couldn't afford having someone die. She needed to try her best to keep everyone alive.

As if on cue, two figures came running through the crowd. Two figures with identical eyes, identical faces, and identical body structures. One of them looked genuinely worried while the other didn't seem to carry emotions. The twins stopped in front of them, trying to catch their breath. It was clear that they had run from the Sonozaki Manor as fast as they could.

"We're sorry we kept you waiting!" Shion apologized, speaking in between heavy breathes. She nudged her sister in the stomach using her elbow, silently telling her to say the same.

Mion seemed to snap out of some kind of trance as she felt her twin's elbow come into contact with her. "Er... yeah. What she said," spoke the green-haired girl.

Keiichi smiled at the sight of his love, unable to think about anything besides her. He just stared at her with happiness and love in his blue eyes, thinking about her. A sudden realization washed over him like an ocean wave as he remembered his promise to Rika. He was supposed to confess his love to her tonight. He suddenly grew a little uneasy at the thought. It wasn't that he didn't want to confess to her. He just felt a little nervous at the idea. It wouldn't be easy for him to move on from her if she were to reject him.

"H-H…Hey Mion," Keiichi greeted. He wasn't sure why his voice suddenly became shaky when he was around her. He had never had that problem before. So why was he suddenly becoming so embarrassed? He didn't really understand his emotions at that moment.

Mion looked over to Keiichi, blushing a bit as her green eyes met his blue ones. "O-Oh… H-Hey, Kei-chan…"

The two of them simply looked into each other's eyes, both of them thinking the same thing. _You probably don't like me back, but I love you, _they thought. Both of them were painfully oblivious to the other's thoughts. They both didn't notice as Shion looked at the two of them, a smirk on her face. She could read both of their feelings with ease.

"Well, well. What do we have here?" spoke Shion, "two lovebirds?"

Keiichi and Mion quickly averted their gaze from each other, causing Shion to laugh. It was so obvious to her that she found it hard to believe that they were unable to see the other's strong feelings of love.

Satoko, as young and innocent as ever, crossed her arms and pouted. "I'm getting bored of just standing here!" she complained. "Come on, we're all here, so can't we just start?"

All of the club members focused their attention on the girl. She was right. If they didn't start soon there wouldn't be enough time for them to finish activities. The ceremony was in an hour and a half, which left them with barely enough time to finish going to each and every one of the stands that were intended to be visited by them. All of them nodded, ready for whatever was to come.

"Alright, first, we'll go to the shaved ice stand," Mion announced, though her voice lacked her usual enthusiasm.

As ordered, all of the club members made their way through the crowd to the shaved ice stand at the end of the festival grounds. They planed to start at the edges and work their way through the area. That way there was no need for running around everywhere. At the very edge of the festival a single shaved ice stand was set up. It wasn't anything fancy, really. It wasn't like one of those shaved ice stands that one would find on the streets of cities. It was a simple stand, one that probably wouldn't draw any attention to tourists. However, it was a great sight for someone who lived in Hinamizawa. Rarely did they ever get a treat like a shaved ice stand in Hinamizawa.

"The goal is to eat as much as you can in five minutes," Mion explained, gesturing to the stand. "Each cup is one hundred yen, so I hope you've brought some money. The flavor you get does not matter."

Each one of the contestants stood in front of the stand, reading to snatch up a cup as soon as Mion gave the signal.

Mion turned to the owner of the stand, who smiled at her. "Oh, if it isn't Sonozaki's girl! Are you planning on having the usual contest again? In that case, I'll just do the usual, right?" he spoke, greeted Mion as if she was an old friend.

The green-haired girl nodded. "Yeah, do that."

The owner of the stand set several cups of random flavors out on the counter. There must have been at least twenty of them, each one a different flavor. The different colors that dyed the ice created a rainbow across the table, making Rena's eyes glint with want to take them all home. Keiichi felt a bead of sweat trickling down his forehead. When Rena was in take-it-home mode, she was unstoppable. It was almost certain that she was to win.

"Here's the deal. Take as many as you like, but you gotta pay for all of them later," the owner of the stand explained to the group of teenagers. Each and every one of the club members nodded their heads in understanding.

"And, go!" Mion cried out.

As soon as those two words came out of the tomboy's mouth, eight pairs of arms grasped for the cups that lay spread out across the counter. Keiichi took the first one that he could lay his hands on and began to devour it. It was cherry flavored, much to his dismay. Artificial cherry flavoring was something that Keiichi simply couldn't stand. Despite the taste, Keiichi began to stuff the ice flavored with disgusting, fake cherry flavor down his throat as fast as he could. He had to win this. As soon as he finished, he felt a painful sensation in his head and on his tongue. He had been hit with a bad case of brain freeze. Not only that, but the revolting cherry flavoring left a terrible taste on his tongue. As fast as he could, he reached for the next flavor he could get his hands on and began to stuff that down his throat. It was strawberry, a flavor that was standard yet delicious. While the flavor of strawberry caused the artificial cherry to diminish, his brain freeze worsened. It was his own fault, really. Keiichi instantly regretted his actions as he clutched his head, unable to continue.

Rika was busy pouring a bunch of shaved ice down her throat. Judging by its purple color, it was probably grape flavored. Meanwhile, Satoko was poking at her green shaved ice with a disgusted look on her face. It appeared that she hadn't even touched it. She quickly shoved the flavor aside and took a bite of another one, only to have the same reaction. It appeared that she wasn't too happy with tasting artificial flavoring, a feeling that Keiichi understood. He was never a fan of artificial flavoring. This was also the reason why he had lost at the shaved ice stand the previous year.

Etsuko also had a case of brain freeze, as she was now sitting on the ground clutching her head tightly. An abandoned cup of shaved ice lay on the ground next to her, it's contents spilled out. Hisao was slowly eating his shaved ice, seemingly not understanding that the idea of the competition was to eat as fast as possible. Shion was digging into a cup of watermelon-flavored shaved ice without having any problem with brain freeze or flavoring. She finished that cup and preceded to move onto the next one she grabbed.

However, Shion's speed was no match for Rena's. Rena gobbled up some blueberry-flavored shaved ice in a matter of seconds, throwing the cup to the side when she was done. A pile of used cups lay next to her. She reached for a melon-flavored shaved ice and began to swallow it up, finishing it in the blink of an eye.

_Oh crap. It looks like she's going to win! _Keiichi realized. No one could possibly beat Rena while she was locked in take-it-home mode. Well, almost no one. There was only one person who had beaten Rena in such a state. And that person was…

_Huh?_ Keiichi thought as he looked over to his club leader. She held a cup of lemon-flavored shaved ice in her hand, eating it very, very slowly. She seemed to be spacing out and had probably forgotten that she was in the middle of club activities. For a moment, he could have sworn he saw Mion give an angry glare to the empty space on her left side. This was certainly odd behavior. Wasn't Mion always so happy to be a part of club activities?

"Mion!" called Keiichi, "what the hell do you think you're doing! Go for the win!"

His words seemed to cause Mion to snap out of her trance, though she did not continue to eat the lemon ice. Instead, she blushed a bright red. "O-Oh! Sorry! This old man was spacing out! Ahaha!" she spoke, rubbing the back of her head.

Keiichi raised an eyebrow. Such behavior was certainly not normal for Mion. Her whole personality was usually ignited with competitive spirit during any kind of club activities. However, it appeared that someone had taken a fire extinguisher and put out that burning spirit from her personality. Mion just hadn't been herself in the last few days.

Mion continued to work on eating her lemon ice, this time faster. However, it was already too late. The outcome of this match had been clear from the moment the owner of the stand set out the colorful array of shaved ice. Rena had already finished up ten cups of shaved ice without any sign of having brain freeze. Shion, having finished her third cup, gave a glance to Rena and sighed. "There's really no point, is there?" she spoke, putting the empty cup still stained a little by pink flavoring back on the counter.

Rika dropped her cup, understanding that she had no chance in winning the competition. "Mii, it looks like Rena wins. But at least the shaved ice tasted good! Nipah~!" she said with one of her signature, cute smiles.

Mion took the last bite of shaved ice left in her cup and set it aside. The whole club was waiting for her to announce Rena as the winner so that they could move on to the next stand. "Ur, Rena wins this one," she spoke.

Rena paused, her whole body freezing in the position it was in when Mion spoke those words. One of her hands was firmly grasping onto a small spoon, diving down to bring another spoonful of shaved ice to her mouth. Only her eyes moved as she glanced about the other club members. Everyone else had stopped eating.

Then, without warning, Rena threw her hands up in the air; causing the cup she was holding to hit poor Satoko in the face. "Rena won! Rena won!" she cried out.

Satoko grumbled as she wiped away the colored stains from her face. "Why am I always the one that gets hurt by Rena? Why?" she complained.

The club members paid the owner of the stand a good deal of money and moved on. They had quite a few more activities to do before the ceremony. After all, they wouldn't be having such a fierce battle for another year. It was the time for them to show off their skills and shine as a club member.

The next station was the Takoyaki stand. Keiichi couldn't help but gulp a little as he stared at the sign. This was one of the club actives that the brown-haired boy hated the most. The memory of gobbling up as many as he could last year was very vivid and one that he would never forget for as long as he lived. Keiichi's eyes watered a little bit. He could practically feel his mouth burning at the thought.

The owner of the stand smiled. "Oh, if it isn't Sonozaki's girl and her friends! Are you here for another speed contest?" he asked, glancing at the excited club members.

Mion nodded. "Yup! You know me really well, don't you, Oji-san?" she spoke. There was a little bit of excitement in her tone, but not enough for it to sound like it was really coming from the proud and courageous Mion that Keiichi knew. He couldn't help but frown a little bit each time she opened her mouth to speak. This just wasn't like Mion.

The owner of the stand set out a few bowls, each containing many spheres of Takoyaki. Then, he pushed a few glasses of water next to them, knowing very well that there would be at least one person who would end up almost crying from trying to eat too many at once.

"And, start!" Mion cried out

Without thinking, Keiichi snatched up a random bowl from the counter and began to eat the Takoyaki slowly. While he knew he wasn't going to win at the speed he was eating them at, he feared the idea of getting his mouth set on fire more than the idea of losing just one competition. Besides, if he could win more, it wouldn't matter that he just lost one.

Meanwhile, Etsuko had decided to go and eat the spheres as fast as she could. Unfortunately, this did not go her way. The poor girl could feel her tongue be enveloped with the spicy flavor. She quickly snatched up a cup of water and chugged it down faster than she had eaten the Takoyaki. Hisao, on the other hand, simply stared at the Takoyaki in the bowl. Judging by how he was acting in the previous contest, he probably wasn't fond of the idea of eating so quickly. Rika, Satoko, and Rena ate at a slow pace, taking their time to chew one Takoyaki before moving onto the next.

Mion and Shion, on the other hand, were eating the Takoyaki at an even faster pace. They seemed to have no trouble with the spicy flavor of the Takoyaki as they devoured one sphere after the other. Shion noticed that her twin seemed to be eating at a similar pace and began to quicken her movements. When Mion noticed that her sister had sped up, she did the same. This cycle seemed to repeat over and over again until Shion and Mion were practically pouring Takoyaki down their throats. By that time, Rika, Satoko, Rena, and Keiichi had all given up. They stood there in awe as they watched the two identical twins compete for the win.

It took a few minutes for the pain of the intense spicy flavor to set in. At the same time, Mion and Shion felt their throats burn as if a fire had been lit in their mouths. Shion felt her tongue begin to cry for water and she quickly tossed the Takoyaki to the side, reaching for the cups of water placed on the counter. Mion did the same and filled her mouth with cool water, dying for the spicy flavor to disappear. The owner of the stand shook his head at the two twins, sighing. Never once did he not see someone begin to cry from the spicy flavor. After four years of serving at the Watanagashi, he began to bring cartons of water for the customers. This proved to be a very wise choice.

"Rena thinks you both won, won," Rena said, watching as the two twins gulped down many cups of water.

"Y-Yeah, shall we call it a tie?" spoke Shion after she had finished with a cup of water.

Mion nodded. "Yes, a tie sounds good."

As they had done before, they paid the owner of the stand, thanked him, and left. There was still so much more for them to do at the festival. As they walked about looking for the next activity, Keiichi couldn't help but smile. Mion seemed to have gained back some of her spirit during that last battle. Perhaps she'd go back to normal after a few more activities.

"Wait a moment!" Mion called out, causing the whole club to halt and turn to their leader. "This old man has to go to the bathroom. Stay here and don't move an inch. I'll be back!" she ordered the club before dashing off in the opposite direction.

The whole club obeyed, standing in their place as if they had been glued to the ground. There wasn't much they could do but listen to her. After all, they couldn't do anything without their leader. He sighed; stuffing his hands into the pockets of his green pants and stared off into space. This Watanagashi was okay compared to the last one. Back then; Mion had all of her competitive spirit. Not only that, but Hanyuu was there with them. Not that the appearance of Hisao and Etsuko made him upset, but he couldn't help but miss the old club member. The club hadn't been the same without her. And now that Mion's spirit was dying, the club would soon become broken beyond repair. Without Mion, the club was nothing. She was the one that made everyone's spirits flare up. She had been the one who had healed his wounds from the toy gun incident a year ago. The club had been the thing that had bound all of them together tightly, creating the bonds necessary to save Rika from Takano. Yes, if it weren't for her, everyone would be lost.

"So, you like Onee?" a voice spoke out, starling Keiichi half to death. Shion stood in front of him, a huge smirk across her face.

"I do not!" denied Keiichi. It was a terrible denial. Every detail on his face read otherwise. There was a visible blush on his face and he had seemed to be a little shaken by the topic.

Shion laughed. "Oh come on, Kei-chan! You're a terrible liar. Your friend Shion here can read you like a book!" she spoke, pointing to herself. "I can see it all over your face. You're blushing, see!" she said, switching her finger's tip to his face. Keiichi covered his face. He hadn't even realized that he had been blushing. However, his actions simply caused Shion to laugh even more. "Oh come on Kei-chan, that just proves me right. You wouldn't try to hide your blush if you didn't like her. Besides, what if I had been lying?"

Keiichi allowed his hands to drop to his sides. There was just no use. Shion was too good. "Oh fine, you win this one, Shion," he grumbled, looking away. He did not want to see the smirk on Shion's face or the pride of victory in her eyes.

Shion smiled. "I'm glad. You gonna tell her?"

Keiichi nodded. "Yeah, I was planning on tonight, but…"

"But?" Shion repeated.

"I'm not sure," he finished.

Shion laughed once again. Her laughter was beginning to irritate him a little bit seeing as it was occurring so frequently. "Oh come on now Kei-chan, you're a man, so be a man! Ask my sis out. I'm sure she'll be happy to go out with you," she spoke, smiling.

Keiichi kicked some dirt on the ground. He really should confess, shouldn't he? It shouldn't be too hard. He couldn't be afraid of something like rejection; otherwise he'd never ever get a girlfriend for as long as he lived. He needed to be bold with this. Besides, it wasn't like there was zero chance of Mion liking him back. Though he doubted it, Mion could like him back. He had also promised Rika that he'd confess and Rena had pestered him about it quite a bit.

"After the ceremony," Keiichi decided. "I'll confess to her then, without a doubt." His voice was full of confidence as he spoke those words, sure that he was going to confess for real this time after a failed attempt.

"Good!" Shion spoke. "I'm sure she'll be happy."

Meanwhile, Hisao watched the two older teenagers as they had a conversation. He couldn't quite hear what they were saying, but it sure sounded like they were having fun. A part of him wanted to go in and join their conversation, perhaps have a little fun himself. He couldn't spend the rest of the night trying to stay away from his sister. No, he had to start his own life. He couldn't let his sister control him any longer. Now that he was free from his sister, he could do anything that he wanted. Perhaps that meant he could have new friends, now? The only friend he had was Rena. It wasn't like he didn't like Rena or anything, but he wanted to have more friends than that. It seemed a little strange to him to be hanging around all these people and not be their friend. The only reason why he hadn't considered talking to them before was because Etsuko told him not to get close to anyone. Hisao gulped, playing with the collar of his shirt awkwardly. That was right. The other reason that he couldn't make friends was because he was simply too shy to go up to someone and greet them.

"I've got to be brave, I've got to be brave," he whispered underneath his breath. Using all his courage, Hisao took a step towards Shion and Keiichi. "I've got to be brave!" he repeated over and over again as he took more steps. He couldn't let shyness ruin his life. He needed to grasp life for himself and become a new Hisao. Otherwise he would go nowhere. He would forever be Ooba Hisao, ruled under his sister's influence. The Hisao she had forced him to become was not the person he wanted to be. He wanted to be a person with friends and a person who could have fun with people without fear or limits.

Finally, he reached the two friends. They both stopped talking as their eyes settled on the younger boy. They both blinked at him, slightly confused. This made the boy feel a little uncomfortable. To him, it was like they were taunting him with those eyes. Hisao gulped, a lump of lead growing in his throat. "Uh, hi guys," he spoke.

"Hey, Hisao," greeted Keiichi with a grin.

Shion smiled. "Oh, how are you?"

Hisao fidgeted a bit, uncomfortable with the behavior of the other two club members standing before him. He had to be brave. "Uh, I'm okay. How about you?" he spoke, trying to fight off that annoying stutter that always plagued his voice.

Keiichi smiled at him. "Oh, I'm alright. It's cool to see that you're finally talking," he spoke, giving him a wink.

Shion sighed, punching the poor unsuspecting boy directly in the stomach. "That's rude, Kei-chan."

Keiichi frowned, rubbing the spot where Shion had punched him. While it certainly couldn't compare to Rena's punches, Shion's punch was something to be feared. Mion was even worse than her sister as she had a lot of experience in material arts.

"No… it's okay. It wasn't… offensive or anything like that," Hisao spoke, biting on his lip to prevent himself from sounding shy or afraid of the two teenagers in front of him. "I-I… I know I don't talk, so I've been trying to fix that. I figured that I need some friends besides Rena so," he said. "N-Not that I don't like Rena!" or anything, he then added on, his face slightly flustered.

Smiling, Keiichi nodded. It was rather nice to see him talk as Keiichi had been constantly trying to get him to warm up to them. It seemed, however, that whatever he did failed to work. Hisao felt a little bad about this as he realized that the whole time the club was just trying to make him feel fit in. He had always rejected their offers, hiding in a corner or something similar. Perhaps if he had listened to them and accepted their offer he would have them as friends by now. "I think it's good that you've decided to talk, though. We've been waiting to become your friend. Isn't that right, Shion?" Keiichi said, looking over to the older teenager on his right side.

Shion nodded. "Yup. We'll be happy to be your friends."

Relief washed over Hisao like an ocean wave. They weren't scary at all! What had he been thinking this whole time? Perhaps he just found them intimidating, as he had never bothered talking to them at all. Or perhaps it wasn't Shion and Keiichi who were scaring him. Perhaps it was Etsuko, who had warned him not to get close to any person. Whenever his sister would order him to do something, she meant it seriously. If he were to break a promise like that, he would surely get in huge trouble. But now that he realized his love for Rena, his sister had kicked him out. Not that he really minded. It was better without the watchful eye of his sister, constantly monitoring him.

"T-Thanks, guys," murmured Hisao.

The conversation was interrupted. "I'm back, now!" called Mion, running over to join the group. Every club member turned to look at their leader, eager to continue on with the club activities. Which stand would they go to next?  
"Good to see you back, Mion," spoke Keiichi, smiling.

Mion blushed a bit at his comment. "Ur, yeah. Thank you, Kei-chan," she spoke in a hushed voice.

The eight club members walked through many stands, looking at the many objects that they sold. There weren't any club activities they could really do at stands that were selling merchandise like t-shirts and necklaces. As such, Mion always told the club to skip over those. There was no point in shopping when they had such little time to finish up their activities. The Watanagashi ceremony was to come soon and Rika would have to depart to grab the hoe used to rip the futon open.

As such, Mion decided to move on to the main club activity that they would be playing. A large booth painted with vibrant colors stood at the center of the festival grounds. Its racks were lined with an array of prizes with one, giant teddy bear sitting in the middle. This was the shooting gallery. It was the club activity that was the most anticipated by all the members. After all, they could win prizes in this one. Every club member stood in front of the stand, staring at all the prizes that were set out. Some of the prizes were small like candy while others were just medium like board games or animal figurines. The biggest one, however, was a giant, fluffy teddy bear. It would be hard to knock such a thing down.

"Hey there! It's Sonozaki's girl and her friends!" the owner of the stand spoke, a huge grin on his face as he recognized the young girl that stood before him. "Are you here to have a contest again?"

Mion nodded. "You know me too well, Oji-san. I'm guessing that bear in the middle there is the main prize?" she said, pointing towards the big teddy bear that sat in the center.

The owner of the shooting gallery nodded his head. "That's right! So many people have come up to my stand trying to knock it down but obviously they have not been so successful! I hope one of you can change that," he spoke, winking towards the group of friends.

Mion turned towards the group so that the colorful eyes of all her friends met her green ones. "Now listen up, here are the rules. You get three shots to knock down prizes. Candy is worth one point, medium prizes are worth three, and the teddy bear is an instant win. The person with the most points in the end wins," she explained. "Now, who will go first?"

Rika raised her hand. "I want to go first so that I definitely won't miss this activity," she said. Rika pulled out a few shiny coins from a bag that clung to Satoko's waist and laid them atop the counter. The owner of the shooting gallery took them and stuffed him into his pocket. He handed a fake gun towards Rika, loaded with corks. Using real bullets was clearly too risky. The blue-haired girl held the gun in her arms, aiming at the bear in the center. She took a shot at it. The cork that blasted from the gun hit the bear, but did not cause it to wobble at all. Rika quickly realized that any attempts to knock down the teddy bear were futile and switched her aim. She knocked down two packs of candy with her remaining two corks and set the gun on the table.

"That's two points for Rika," Mion counted. Keiichi noted that she was acting a little bit more cheerful, now. Perhaps the activities had warmed her up again.

The owner of the shooting gallery picked up the two boxes of candy and handed them to Rika, who happily accepted them. She tore open the top of the box and began to eat the candy that was inside of it with a grin. She didn't care that she had no chance of winning now. The candy made up for that.

Hisao's turn came next. He held the gun in his shaking hands before shooting. Unfortunately, the shaking caused the cork to go flying off and hit the wall of the tent. He tried again, only to get the same result. With one last cork, Hisao pointed towards a box of candy and fired. This time, it hit, causing the box to fall over. The owner of the shooting gallery handed him the box of candy that he knocked down and took the gun back from his shaking arms.

"One point," spoke Mion. Rika smiled a little more, happy that at she at least managed to beat _someone._

Rena's turn followed his. She snatched up the gun from the owner's hands, intoxicated by the cuteness of the bear in the center. She surely wouldn't give up on such an adorable prize. She pointed the gun towards the bear in the center and fired three corks at a rapid speed. Each one of them hit the target. The first one hit but bounced off while the second manage to make the bear wobble a little bit. The third knocked it a little off balance, but still did not knock it down.

Rena frowned. She had gotten zero points. She was clearly the loser in this game. Sighing, she returned the gun to the owner and walked back to watch the next person go. "I really wanted to take Mr. Bear home," sighed Rena.

Keiichi couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Rena. She had finally found something cute that she could not take home. Well, not that taking Rika or Satoko home without asking was legal. It was sad to see her so upset.

Shion took the gun next. She shot at the bear once, causing it to wobble even more. However, after that, she aimed for a board game and knocked it over. She then hit the board game right next to it, also causing it to fall over. The owner of the shooting gallery grinned, showing off his yellow, rotten teeth. He handed Shion the two games she had knocked down. "According to Ms. Sonozaki, that would be four points," he spoke.

Etsuko decided to go next. She aimed for the bear, hitting it with two corks but failing to knock it over. Rolling her eyes, Etsuko shot down a deck of cards with her remaining cork. She barely hit it, though it still managed to fall.

"One point."  
Mion decided to go next. She snatched up the gun, aiming it as best as she could. Mion was always good at this game and often won it. Smiling, she shot the gun. _Bam! _A plastic animal falls down. _Bam!_ A board game is hit, causing it to tumble over. _Bam! _Another board game falls down. She didn't even try aiming for the bear, as she knew such was useless.

"I get six points," she said, collecting her prizes.

Keiichi was the last to go. There was no way he could beat Mion now unless he knocked over that bear. And since so many people had already tried, it could be possible for him to knock it over. After all, it had gone rather off balance when Etsuko hit it. He had quite the experience with aiming guns from the incident with the toy gun a year ago, so it shouldn't be very hard at all to hit it. Not only that, but it was very big. He aimed the gun at the bear carefully, trying to pinpoint the spot that could cause it to fall over. He decided to go for the head as he had concluded that was probably the spot that could cause the bear to fall over. He shot the gun once. A cork flew out of it, hitting the bear exactly where he aimed it. The bear teetered a little bit from side to side but did not fall over. Frustrated, Keiichi held the gun up to hit again.

"That was some nice aim," a male adult voice commented. Keiichi whipped his head around to check the source of the voice though he did not want to move his hands. He had already found the perfect spot and did not want to bother with aiming again. The man was Akasaka Mamoru, someone who he could clearly remember from a year ago. He was the man who had put up an epic fight when Okonogi attempted to inject Rika, severely kicking their butts.

Keiichi blinked at him. "Erm, thanks?" he said.

Akasaka smiled. "Why don't you try firing both of those corks at once?" he suggested, pointing to the bear. "I'm sure it could knock it over if you hit the spot you were aiming for before."

Keiichi nodded, turning back to the stand. He held the gun up and pointed it back at the bear's head as he had unintentionally threw his aim off. Just as Akasaka suggested, Keiichi fired both of the corks at once. They hit the bear in succession. The bear wobbled backwards a little bit, moving from side to side. His eyes narrowed as he focused in on the bear some more, begging for it to fall over. If it fell, that meant he had won. Then, he could finally prove to the club that he was worthy of being a member. After all, he was well known for losing and nothing more.

It didn't seem like it was going to fall. The bear just moved back and forth without sign of stop. Finally, however, the bear began to fall backwards. Head first; the bear fell to the floor. It hit the ground softly, its fluffy fake fur saving it from a harsh landing. Keiichi's blue eyes widened as he saw the bear fall. He couldn't believe it. He had actually won something.

Cheers erupted through the group of club members. Each of them commented to each other about how they thought Keiichi wouldn't be able to knock the bear down and how they thought for sure that Mion would win the shooting gallery once again. The owner of the shooting gallery smiled, picking up the bear in his arms and setting it on the table. "My, my. I'm impressed, youngster. You actually shot it down," he spoke, congratulating the boy on such an achievement.

Keiichi picked the bear up in his arms, smiling. He was just glad to have finally won something after a bad start to the battle. "Thank you, Akasaka. I don't think it would have been knocked over if you didn't tell me what to do," he said, smiling at the black-haired man.

Akasaka smiled back. "No need to thank me, I'm just glad I can help," he said. "Though I must say, you are quite good with your aim. I don't think I could have hit that bear at the very top of its head. I'm not that great with guns."

Keiichi rubbed the back of his head while he held the bear with one arm, embarrassed. "Well, I have a little practice with toy guns but I've never used a real one."

Akasaka laughed. "I have a real gun that I'm required to have as a police man, but I never really use it," he said, gesturing to the gun that was in a holster at his side. "You see?" he pulled the gun out, showing it to the group. It was a medium-sized gun, nothing very impressive. It was painted with black and reflected the silver moon in it's metal. "It's nothing, really. Just a gun that I'm forced to have. I keep it with me wherever I go, though," he explained, pocketing the firearm.

"Ah, I've used a gun like that before," Mion said, glancing at the gun that was now back in it's holster. "The one I have on my chest right now is just a toy gun. It's nothing real."

Satoko looked a little puzzled by the conversation at hand. "I've only ever used a fake gun at the shooting gallery," she murmured, feeling a little left out.

A chorus of laughter broke out among the club members. Even Mion laughed, just a little. It seemed like a forever since Keiichi had seen her laugh.

"Well then, I got to get back to my kids. Katashi and Miyuki are very impatient at times," spoke Akasaka. "I'll see you kids later!"

And with that, the man walked away from the group, leaving behind the club members. Keiichi still held the bear in his hands, looking down upon it. He didn't really have a need for such a thing. Though he did find it kind of cute, he figured that someone else would enjoy it more. Perhaps he should give it to Mion as a gift? _No, she didn't even aim for the bear. I… I don't think she wanted it, _he thought, glancing at the green-haired girl who was having a small chat with her sister. What about Rena, then? She had been so eager to take that bear home with her and had been so upset when she failed to knock it over. _Yeah, that's a good idea. I think I'll give it to her, then._

"Here, Rena. Take it," he said, handing the bear over to Rena. "I got it just for you, 'cuz you know, you wanted to take it home so badly."

Rena's face lit up with glee. "You're letting Rena take it home?" she said, her voice filled with disbelief. "But it's Keiichi-kun's! You knocked it over!"

Keiichi shook his head. "No, you take it. I got it for you, so…"

Rena snatched the bear up quicker than Keiichi thought she would. She nuzzled her cheek against it, enjoying the fluffy feel of the fake fur that coated it. Stuffed animals were among the top of many things on Rena's list of things that she found cute. She was clearly delighted by receiving the bear.

For a moment, Keiichi could have sworn he saw Mion stare at Rena with a look of hatred and jealousy. After rubbing his eyes, however, he came to the conclusion that he must have imagined such a thing. Mion didn't look upset at all. Perhaps he had just been imagining things.

"…Let's move on, then, shall we?" murmured Mion. Any remaining bits of her flaming spirit had died. She was speaking just like how she was when she first came to the festival. Keiichi grew a little upset at this. Why had she suddenly gotten so depressed again? He didn't understand it. _Mion must be going through a really, really hard time in her life._

The club members nodded. "Yes, let's move."

~~~~X~~~~

An hour passed by, and the club was now finished with their _Battle of the Evil Eights. _Drums coming from the Furude Shrine began to sound, indicating that the Cotton Drifting Ceremony was about to begin. Every club member stopped what they were doing and ran over to the Furude Shrine, wanting to get a peak at Rika's performance. She would surely do a good job just like last year. After all, she had been practicing a lot for this day.

The crowd around the Furude Shrine was very thick. Maebara Keiichi found that he had a hard time finding a spot where he could actually see the stage. Beside him stood his friends, eager to see Rika's ceremony. She would surely be the highlight of this year's Watanagashi Festival. Keiichi couldn't wait to see her. It wouldn't be much longer until she appeared on stage. All they needed to do was summon the rest of the villagers to watch the ceremony.

A few minutes later, Rika appeared on stage. She was clad in her miko outfit and was carrying a giant hoe that she would use to cut open the futon. She began the ceremony, staring it with a single gesture to the audience. Then, she turned towards the many futons that were laid out for her. She was to cut them all up. Before she cut them, however, she did a small, traditional dance. Each movement of hers was graceful and flawless. She had clearly practiced a lot. Not one mistake was made. Then, Rika raised the hoe and tore the futon open with it. Pure, white cotton was visible through the crevice created by the hoe. She bowed once more, finishing up her ceremony with yet another dance.

Keiichi couldn't help but be in awe. Her skill was undeniable. How much had she practiced? It seemed to him like she had done it a thousand times before. At that moment, he was sure that no other previous Furude had done such a great job with the ceremony. Certainly Rika was the best of all the Furudes.

Everyone applauded as the ceremony came to a close, marking the end of the 1984 Watanagashi. All the villagers turned and made their way towards the river, ready to drift the cotton down it to complete the festival. This was the event the whole village was to participate in. He walked along with the flowing crowd, thinking about Rika's performance the whole time. She was simply amazing. There was no doubt that this year was better than the last. Of course, she had been amazing last year, as well.

"Hey, don't you think Rika-chan was great?" he spoke, turning towards her friends.

Rena, who was the closest to him, nodded. "Yeah! Rika-chan is so cute when she does the ceremony! Hau!" she cried out, thoughts of the cute miko filling her head.

Etsuko chuckled a bit at her friend's odd behavior. "Yeah, I think that she was amazing as well! There's no doubt that she's skilled!" she commented.

As Keiichi glanced about his friends, he realized something. Only one of the two green-haired twins walked along side him. "Have you guys seen Mion?" Keiichi asked.

Etsuko shook her head. "Nope. I saw her at the ceremony, but she seems to have gone home or something."

Keiichi sighed. Wasn't he supposed to confess to her now? He had vowed that he would do it after the ceremony. Now that he had promised, he couldn't break it. He needed to find Mion and confess to her before she went home. But where was she? Try as he might, Keiichi was unable to locate Mion's figure in the crowd. "I'll be back," he murmured to the club quickly. Then, he dashed off into the crowd, beginning his desperate search for his leader. There was no way he wasn't going to confess. He knew for sure that he was going to do it tonight. He pushed his way thorugh the crowd, soon coming to the end. There was no Mion.

Taking a deep breath, Keiichi dashed into the woods behind the Furude Shrine. Was it possible that she had wandered off? But if that were the case, then why would she do something like that? Mion wasn't the type of person that would simply abandon her friends without saying anything to them. She was a loyal person who would never, ever leave them. Even the possibility of her wanting some alone time seemed strange to Keiichi. Mion had never tried to isolate herself from the club.

After a bit of walking, Keiichi caught sight of Mion walking through the woods. What was she doing? "Mion!" he called to her desperately. However, the green-haired girl said nothing and did not turn around to look at him. "Mion!" he called again, needing to hear her voice. He needed answers. Not only that, but he needed to confess his love to her. He had promised Rika. He couldn't back down now. Besides, this wasn't just for Rika. It was for his future.

"Mion!" he called out to her once again.

Finally, the girl seemed to hear him. She whipped around to face him, staring at him with green eyes dulled by the black of the night.

"There you are!" he said, panting. "Why did you run off like that, Mion? I was looking for you everywhere!"

She stiffened. "I need some time alone, that's all."

Well, that was certainly strange. Mion never needed some time alone or anything like that. He laughed that off, smiling. "I need to talk to you, Mion. Just you and me, okay?"

But Mion looked away from him, avoiding his gaze. "I'm sorry, Kei-chan. I really need some time alone," she whispered.

Keiichi frowned. What was wrong with her? "Come on, Mion. I just need to talk to you for a few seconds alone. It's nothing bad, I promise," he repeated.

However, Mion's response did not change. Her eyes were focused on a tree in the distance, seemingly trying to avoid his gaze. "I told you, leave me alone."

This was when Keiichi began to grow upset. Something wasn't right. Keiichi grabbed onto Mion's hand, tugging on it. He needed to confess to her no matter what. Perhaps it would make her feel a little better. "I mean it though, Mion. Can't you just talk to me for a little bit?"

Then, Mion did something surprising. She slapped Keiichi's hand away, growling at him. "I told you to stop it already! Now go away!" she snapped.

Keiichi felt his heart shatter into a million pieces. Slowly, he nodded and ran away from her, leaving her all alone as she had wished for. He had once again failed to confess to her, but this time, it was not his own fault. Mion just didn't want to speak with him. He wasn't sure why, but he had to respect her. Even so, he felt his heart begin to hurt. _She… she definitely doesn't love me. Otherwise, she wouldn't have done that. _

Yet, he blamed himself. He shouldn't have bothered Mion like that. Perhaps he would have been able to confess to her if he gave her a little time to herself. Maybe things wouldn't have turned out the way they were now. He had made a promise to Rika that he had now broken. Rika was said to be the reincarnation of Oyashiro-sama. She was said to know the future. Perhaps she had ordered him to confess in order to change a fate that was coming up. Salty tears flew behind him as he ran faster than he had ever before. Now, all he could do was return to the group.

As expected, the club members were at the river, performing the Cotton Drifting. Rena was busy teaching a confused Hisao how to purify the cotton before sending it down the river and give thanks to Oyashiro-sama. It seemed that most people had forgotten to do that before drifting their cotton. Meanwhile, Rika was seemingly talking to herself. Satoko was kicking pebbles into the river while talking with Shion, having already drifted her cotton. The only one who noticed his arrival was Etsuko, who was sitting all alone on the bank.

"Ah, Keiichi-kun," she greeted, walking up to him. Keiichi was slightly thankful that no one else seemed to spot him. He was embarrassed by the fact that he was crying. Something like that would surely hurt his pride. "Are you upset about something?" she asked him.

Keiichi nodded. "I don't want to talk about it, though. It's a long story," he murmured.

Etsuko titled her head. "Well then, I want to talk to you about something else. So would you please come into the woods with me for a little bit?" she requested.

He nodded, having nothing else to do. He'd drift the cotton down the river later. It wasn't something really important. There was no Oyashiro-sama's curse so he wouldn't be killed or anything if he didn't. Etsuko grasped his hand and pulled him back beyond the Furude Shrine and into the woods where he had seen Mion. He hoped that he wouldn't run into her again for her own sake. She needed some time alone before they met again. Besides, it would be embarrassing if she saw him because of her.

Etsuko stopped at a small clearing in the trees. There were several thick bushes around the area. Keiichi could have sworn he heard something rustle in the bushes, but he quickly ignored it. It was probably just some kind of animal exploring the woods.

"Well, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" Keiichi wondered, wiping away a few stray tears.

Etsuko smiled, looking into his eyes. "I wanted to thank you for being so nice to me all this time, Keiichi-kun. So thank you," she spoke.

Keiichi looked puzzled. "Oh, you're welcome," he responding, finding no other words to say.

The pink-haired girl said nothing for quite a bit. She allowed herself to look into the male's eyes, smiling the whole time. "You always listened to me when I had something to tell you and you never told anyone my secrets," she began to speak. "So thanks for being my friend."

"Well, that's what friends do!" Keiichi said, trying to cheer himself up. "We always listen to each other."

Etsuko blushed a little bit and began to fidget uncomfortably. "Well, Keiichi-kun, ur… this is a little embarrassing but…" she said, pushing her fingers together in a nervous gesture. "I think I like you."

Keiichi's eyes widened to the size of plates. What? She liked him? Keiichi wasn't sure what to say. He most certainly did not like her back. He was in love with Mion and that was final. There was no one else in the world for him. So what could he say? But wait a moment. Wasn't this girl in love with that Hajime guy? Keiichi began to feel a little uncomfortable around this girl. She certainly wasn't someone he could really trust. What was she trying to do?  
"What am I, a replacement for Hajime?" spoke Keiichi, sounding a little harsh unintentionally.

Etsuko shook her head slowly. "No, you aren't. Hajime was just a childish love. I was only nine, after all. There's no way a nine year old could truly be in love with someone. I like you because you're Keiichi, not Hajime," she spoke. She didn't seem shaken one bit my Keiichi's harsh words.

Still, Keiichi wasn't sure what to say. He just didn't have the heart to reject her. That would be rude. He opened his mouth to speak, but shut it, trying to find _something _to say. It would be rude if he didn't say anything. There was more rustling in the bushes, this time a little more loud. However, it quickly died down. Perhaps the animal had scampered away.

"I'm… sorry. I like Mion… not you," whispered Keiichi.

Etsuko's face twisted into a sad smile. "Oh, that's what I thought," she managed to speak, sounding a little bit upset. "You and Mion make a good couple, don't you?"

Keiichi rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, I guess," he murmured.

Silence followed. The cries of the higurashi cicadas filled the empty night, louder than ever.

"Well, then," whispered Etsuko. Suddenly, before Keiichi knew it, Etsuko had disappeared into the trees, leaving him all alone. He looked rather confused. What was that whole scene about? Hopefully he hadn't hurt her too badly. But he had needed to tell her the truth. He did not feel a single speck of love for her. All of his heart belonged to Mion and no one else. _Mion._ That name made Keiichi's heart began to hurt all over again.

Slowly, more tears came out of his eyes as he thought about the girl he was in love with. He began to walk through the forest aimlessly, wanting to stay away from people. Images of Mion flashed through his mind. He could remember the happy, smiling Mion he missed oh so much. She just wasn't acting the same anymore. He could no longer control the tears that were falling down his face. Now, they were pouring out like a waterfall. He didn't even try to hold back as he sobbed more than ever before.

_Mion… my Mion. I love you… I love you so much._

~~~~X~~~~

Mion was alone in the darkness. She sat on the floor on the floor of the forest, thinking about the day. She had tried to remain strong for her friends during the Watanagashi. Unfortunately, her efforts were all in vain. The Green-Eyed Demon stalking her and constantly speaking to her was no help. She could not focus on her club activities when she was whispering bad thoughts into her ears. Recently, however, she had been more depressed by her love for Keiichi that would probably remain unrequited.

She couldn't help but feel a little upset about the little incident with the bear that had happened just a few seconds ago. He had been looking at her as if he was about to give up the bear to her. And yet, she did not receive it. He gave it to Rena, claiming that he had gotten it just for her. Perhaps it wouldn't have bothered so much if he hadn't said those words to her.

_ "I got it just for you, 'cuz you know, you wanted to take it home so badly."_

Was that really it? Had he only gotten it for her just because she had wanted to take it home so badly? Maybe it was something different. After that little incident yesterday where Keiichi told Rena that he wanted to talk to her, perhaps they had gotten together and were now girlfriend and boyfriend. Maybe that bear was supposed to be some kind of romantic gift to her and not just a friendly gift. _I knew it, he really loves Rena, doesn't he? He loves her, not me. He won't ever love me._

In truth, Mion felt extremely bad at pushing Keiichi away from her when he had claimed that he needed to talk to her. At the same time, however, she figured that she'd just need the time alone. She needed to give some thought about what had happened to her tonight.

"I wonder if he was going to tell you about his relationship with Rena?" the Green-Eyed Demon speculated, watching as the green-haired girl sighed. "You know, after the whole incident yesterday. I bet they confessed their love for each other then."

Mion tried to ignore the Green-Eyed Demon's words. She didn't need someone to tell her and give her ideas about what her friends were up to. She already had a pretty good idea herself. Rena was probably in love with Keiichi and it was possible that they were now dating each other. The Green-Eyed Demon didn't need to whisper these thoughts in her head. It was simply annoying.

Sighing, Mion stood up and began to walk through the forest. She wasn't sure what else to do. She just needed some more time by herself. The forest wasn't too thick in that area, thankfully. She had a strong hatred for the forest hat lay beyond Hinamizawa. It was quite annoying to navigate through such a thick forest.

Unfortunately, Mion was not looking where she was going and ended up tripping over an unsuspected branch lying on the ground. Perhaps it had fallen off when someone bumped into it. She found herself lying on the ground, her entire body buried in thick bushes. Grumbling, she tried to pull herself out without cutting herself on any of the branches. When she had finally stood up, however, her jeans got snagged on another branch and she tumbled back down into another bush.

"Well, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" a voice said coming from nearby. Looking up from the bundle of branches and leaves, Mion caught sight of Keiichi and Etsuko standing across from each other. Quickly, she ducked down so that they couldn't see her mostly. '_What are they talking about?' _she wondered.

"I wanted to thank you for being so nice to me all this time, Keiichi-kun. So thank you," the pink-haired girl said, smiling at the brown-haired boy across from her. Mion was rather puzzled. _Wait, what is she getting at?_

For a split second, Etsuko glanced over at the bushes that Mion was hiding in, causing a alarm to off in her head. She quickly buried herself further in the bushes, hoping that Etsuko hadn't seen her. A small smirk formed on her face before she turned back to look at Keiichi.

"Oh, you're welcome," he responded, seemingly having a hard time finding words.

"You always listened to me when I had something to tell you and you never told anyone my secrets," the pink-haired girl spoke before pausing for a few seconds. "So thank you."

"Well, that's what friends do!" Keiichi said, smiling. To Mion, it seemed that he was really happy. But for some reason, it felt as if he had faked it. Never had she seen Keiichi fake happiness. "We always listen to each other."

A pang of anger filled Mion as she noticed that the pink-haired girl was blushing. "Well, Keiichi-kun, ur… this is a little embarrassing but…" she said, fidgeting nervously. Why was she acting so nervous? It truly bothered her. "I think I like you," she finished.

That single pang of anger that she had contained swelled up until it engulfed her entire body. How dare she like HER Keiichi? Mion clenched her fists and had to practically glue her feet to the ground to prevent herself from killing Etsuko there and then.

"What am I, a replacement for Hajime?" Keiichi spoke. Wait a moment. Who was Hajime? That name seemed familiar to Mion for some reason, but she couldn't quite put her finger on whose name it was.

Etsuko shook her head. "No, you aren't. Hajime was just a childish love. I was only nine, after all. There's no way a nine year old could truly be in love with someone. I like you because you're Keiichi, not Hajime," she spoke. Keiichi said nothing in response. At first, Mion thought a bit about Hajime. Who was this guy? Then, she felt anger fill her once again as she thought about Etsuko's words. She liked Keiichi. She was in love with her Keiichi. HER Keiichi. This was something unforgivable. In about five seconds, Mion stood up and dashed away at the speed of light. She did not want to hear anymore of Etsuko's words of love nor did she want to hear Keiichi's response. She ran out of the forest, tears in her eyes. The Green-Eyed Demon followed her at the same pace, not once faltering behind.

Soon, she reached the Sonozaki Manor. No one was home as her Grandmother had gone off to talk with Kimiyoshi about the village and Shion was still out with her friends. Mion bolted through the hallway and entered her room, locking it tightly. She then collapsed onto her futon, holding her head tightly.

"DAMN IT THAT ETSUKO!" she screamed out. She could scream as much as she wanted. There was no one there to listen to her.

The Green-Eyed Demon sat down next to her. "Yeah, she likes Keiichi. What did I tell you?"

Now that Mion thought about it, she was right. The Green-Eyed Demon had been warning her about Etsuko's feelings for Keiichi this whole time. If she had just listened to her, she would have been able to change things. Perhaps she could have confessed to Keiichi first. And why did she smirk at her like that? Was she silently laughing at her for not getting Keiichi? "Damn it! She's trying to take my Kei-chan from me!"

The Green-Eyed Demon smiled evilly. "And what about that Rena pest? What happened outside yesterday? And what was up with the bear at the shooting gallery today?" she questioned Mion.

This was the first time Mion had ever given thought to what the Green-Eyed Demon told her. Usually, she'd simply ignore her or deny what she was saying. But now, more than ever, she needed to consider Rena's motivations. She knew that she liked Keiichi as she had told her a few times. If that was so, then why did Rena accept the bear? Besides, she had talked to Keiichi outside the other day. Mion had failed to catch anything of their conversation outside. Perhaps they had confessed their love to each other. Maybe that bear was a romantic gift to her. However, a part of the puzzle just didn't seem to fit. Rena knew about her feelings for Keiichi, so why? Why? Then, it came to her. Rena knew, but she just didn't care. She wanted Keiichi all for herself. "It's true!" she screamed out with realization. "It's all true! You were right all along! Rena and Etsuko are both trying to take my Kei-chan away from me!"

The Green-Eyed Demon smiled, happy that Mion had finally accepted the thoughts she had tried so hard to deny. "Are you jealous of them?" she questioned.

Of course she was. Mion had wanted Keiichi to give her that bear from the moment he knocked it over. Something like that just didn't fit him. Even though Mion wasn't so into bears, it would be nice to get a gift from him. "Yes! I'm jealous! I'm extremely jealous of them!" she responded.

The Green-Eyed Demon's smile grew wider at the acceptance. "I have one final question to ask, but before that, I want to bring up the subject of that Hajime guy."

Hajime? Oh yeah, that was the guy Keiichi and Etsuko was speaking about. Who was he, anyways? That name seemed so familiar. It was on the tip of her tongue. Hajime, Hajime, Hajime…

"OH YEAH!" cried out Mion as memories came rushing back to her. "Yamakawa Hajime! I remember him now!"

The memories that had gone forgotten by her for some reason had came back suddenly in a giant wave. Why had she forgotten about something so important? "Yamakawa Hajime used to live here. He… he was my best friend. And Etsuko was in love with him! So why the hell does she care about Keiichi now!" she spoke. "That damn girl loved him so freaking much! It even got to the point where she started excluding me because she thought I liked him! But I didn't! He was just my friend!"

The Green-Eyed Demon listened happily to the girl's works, smirking evilly. "Do you remember what happened to Hajime?"  
That's right. Shouldn't he be here, now? Perhaps he transferred or something similar to that. Mion came up with various reasons why he could have disappeared. He could have been their friend if he was still here. Perhaps his family had to move, or maybe he died? "That's it! I remember now!" screamed Mion. "I remember! Hajime is dead! He's dead!"

But why was he dead? No, the answer to that was simple. "I KILLED HIM! I KILLED THEM ON THE NIGHT OF THE WATANAGASHI FESTIVAL!" yelled Mion, remembering that night seven years ago. "But I don't get it. How? Didn't I want to kill Etsuko and Bunko? Those two girls were the ones that excluded me. Besides, I don't think a nine-year-old could really pull such a thing off."

The Green-Eyed Demon looked at Mion directly in the eyes, as if she was glaring at her. "Aren't you forgetting me? I hope you haven't forgotten my identity."

She certainly hadn't forgotten about the Green-Eyed Demon's identity. She was Sonozaki Mion, the heiress to the Sonozaki Family of Hinamizawa and Onifaguchi. She was her. The Green-Eyed Demon was a great, evil demon. Did that make her a demon? Mion recalled the tale that she had been told. One of the two demons, Sayuri, had explained what happened when a demon lost their sanity. If she had been so focused on the goal of killing Etsuko back then, and if she was really a demon, then…

"That's right," murmured Mion. "I… I slashed them up with my claws. I… I was turning into…"

Mion couldn't even finish her sentence. The idea was horrifying to her. She had killed someone with her bare hands. The Green-Eyed Demon's smile, however, did not wash away when she saw how terrified Mion was at the idea. "Then, can I ask you my final question?" she requested.

Mion simply nodded, very, very slowly.

The Green-Eyed Demon stood up and looked down upon the girl. Then, she took a deep breath, and began to speak. "Sonozaki Mion, are you a demon?" she asked.

"Yes!" Mion responded instantly, without having to think. "I'm a demon! I was born a demon just like the legend of Sonozaki Ayame said! One of a pair of twins born into the Sonozaki family is born a demon. I'm most certainly a demon!"

The Green-Eyed Demon shut her green eyes, a small sigh coming out of her mouth. "Do you remember what I said before? About me being everything you refuse to accept?"

Mion nodded. "I remember that very well."

"Good," spoke the Green-Eyed Demon. "If you accept me here, then I'll disappear and return to being a part of your body. Then, you'll have the strength of a demon once again. You banned the demon side of you after you killed Hajime, trapping the memories away along with it. I'm that side of you, the side of you that was kicked out," she explained, getting down on one knee so that she was at Mion's height. "You could even kill Etsuko…"

If she was a demon, then the Green-Eyed Demon was certainly her. The Green-Eyed Demon had only been telling her the things she refused to admit. Saying yes would mean that she was accepting that she was not a human, but a demon. Not that it mattered, really. Demons were creatures above humans, after all. With that in mind, Mion made up her answer. "Yes, I am you. I am the Green-Eyed Demon," she answered. Her breathing seemed a little shaky as she said so, however. Such a thing was hard to accept about herself.

With one last smile, the Green-Eyed Demon nodded. "I'm glad. Now, good-bye, self. I hope we manage to defeat the competition, hm?" she spoke. In a matter of seconds, spots like fireflies began to float around the Green-Eyed Demon. They were bright and almost blinding to look at. Then, the spots began to attach to the Green-Eyed Demon. Her figure was soon enveloped in a glowing blanket. Then, her figure shattered into a billion pieces, shattering about the floor. Like a magnet, the pieces flew over to Mion, disappearing into her body until she had absorbed every single one of them. That's when Mion realized that she was now truly alone. A surge of strength rushed through her. This was the strength of a demon.

Mion stood up, not shaking one bit. An evil grin appeared on her face as she began to chuckle a little bit. Seconds later, that chuckling turned into a loud, evil laugh that echoed across the whole Sonozaki Manor. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" she laughed. "I am Sonozaki Mion, the Green-Eyed Demon! Etsuko, Rena, get ready to DIE! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

~~~~X~~~~

**Crimso's Corner.**

**I'm sorry for taking so long to update. So much crap is happening in my life and it's hard to control. Yesterday was pretty harsh. I had to stay at my school until seven PM so obviously that took out a chunk of my writing time. We were having our annual spring concert where our band plays for all the parents. It went all right, I guess. It's fun for me to play music. The part that wasn't fun was staying until seven and practically starving to death. The teachers were nice enough to not give us any homework, however. I also had two tests. One of them was really hard and one of them was the easiest test I've had this year. My math skills are going down. I used to get As on every single piece of work I did. Now, it's not working out for me anymore. Science was the easy test. We also dissected an eyeball on Monday, though I only got halfway through it and had to do it all over again on Wednesday during Study Hall. Speaking of Study Hall, I'm in the middle of Lunch right now. I just came out from study hall. I wrote the whole part with Mion and the Green-Eyed Demon in study hall. Also, the part where she spied on Etsuko and Keiichi was also written during study hall (and homeroom).**

**By the way, I did something funny to my computer. My screen is all messed up. In some areas, it's illuminated really brightly and in some areas it's really dim. Actually, the bright area resembles the United States of America. I think it's telling me to do my History homework instead of writing this. Ah, oh well. Who cares about my history homework? This is much more fun.**

**Did you like this chapter? Well, from now on, things are going to get serious. I'm sad I'm letting the Green-Eyed Demon's form go. Well, the Green-Eyed Demon is Mion, but. Let me clear that up for you guys. The Green-Eyed Demon IS Mion. It's just a part of her she threw away (along with her memories of killing people and any malicious thoughts she had). The Green-Eyed Demon is NOT the demon inside Mion. Mion is a demon. There is no demon inside of her. There's just her. She's really a demon. Does that make sense or did I make it even more confusing?**

**In any case, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I need to upload this now or I won't get a chance to later. No time for spell check. Review, please! I want to thank my reviewers now. I'd list them all out, but there is no time. So thank you! Reviewers of this chapter can get a free Ayame plushie. She won't kill you, by the way. Let's see if we can get to 100 reviews. I'll have a surprise for you if you do. It'll probably be a oneshot or something similar o:.**

**Happy Friday the 13th, by the way. I hope nothing bad happens to you all. I already broke my computer screen :P.**

**~Crimso**

**P.S: Actually, I am uploading this in computer class. Never got the chance to during lunch. Ahaha.**

**P.S.S: This is offically the longest chapter, beating out Envy (the chapter where Greeny appears.) Funny, as this is the chapter where she disappears.**

**P.S.S.S: 200,000 WORDS GET!**


	28. Chapter 27: One Thousand Spirits

**HELLO THERE MY LOVELYS :D. Oh, sorry. I had like fifteen cups of coke just a few hours ago and I've been like this since. I'm actually in a school play that opens Thursday so that's been cutting into my time. Today, I had to be at school for 5 hours. Oh yeah, it's Sunday. Sucks, eh? But it's fun to act. That's one of my favorite things to do. Oh well. I have till June 20****th**** to finish this fanfic and school is out on the 7****th**** of June. I have quite a bit of time. I'm sure I can finish, so don't worry. **

**By the way, do you want me to write a fluffy MionXKeiichi oneshot in honor of 100 reviews or would you like something else? Let me know in the reviews. **

**Warning: Chapter ahead contains some violence and is a bit unorganized and confusing. This was originally going to be two chapters but I cut it down to one chapter due to timing.**

**Chapter 27. SHOCK. I think there'll be five or six more. Not sure.**

~~~~X~~~~

Echoes of maddened laughter filled the almost empty Sonozaki Manor. Mion was very glad that her grandmother was out with the other villagers, as she would probably have to kill her for hearing such a thing if she wasn't. The door to the room Mion was in burst open as she stepped out, a psychotic smile stretched across her face as she thought of the many sadistic things she could do now that she had accepted the fact that she was not a human, but a demon. Violent thoughts filled her head and she smiled at them. Thinking of gruesome ways to kill people was simply thrilling to her.

The demon wandered through the halls silently, still thinking of murder. She had to think over her plans for tonight a little bit. After all, she didn't have very much time. Soon, Keiichi would surely be completely in love with Rena and Etsuko. She had to finish them off before such a thing could happen. Keiichi needed to love her, not those pests. With a smirk on her face, she kicked the door to her house opened and wandered through the yard. No one was there to see her. Everyone was still at the festival; either getting drunk or putting away stands. The rest of the club members were most likely still hanging out by the river, joking with each other. In fact, Rena and Keiichi were probably making out somewhere. This was a thought that angered Mion and fueled her need to kill even more. Though she assured herself that she would most certainly die by tomorrow. That was the plan, anyways.

Mion found herself in front of a large, metal door. This was the entrance to the underground torture chamber that the Sonozaki Family kept a secret from most people. They had concealed the door well so that no people walking by could possibly see it. She pushed the doors open with two hands. The creaking of old metal filled the air. She stepped inside the room and closed the doors tightly behind her.

Once inside, she glanced around her. When she was younger, she feared this place. It always gave off a ominous and creepy atmosphere that was somewhat disturbing to be around. But now, to Mion Sonozaki, the Green-Eyed Demon, the place seemed to give off a welcoming and calm atmosphere. A place like this was peaceful for a demon like her. She smiled as she looked at the very elaborate torture equipment that lined the walls. The Sonozaki Torture Chamber was much, much bigger than the Saiguden though it contained fewer items. That wasn't really a problem for Mion, though. She could borrow a few things from the Saiguden. She took a deep breath as she wandered further into the chamber, exploring the many rooms. "Now where is it? It would be nice if they said where it was put," murmured Mion as she exited one of the rooms. "Oh well, no problem. I'm sure it's somewhere."

In a rather small room that could only barely be seen, Mion came across a giant, dusty cabinet sealed with a giant lock. Despite being a Sonozaki, she had never seen this cabinet before. A single note was written on it. The paper was old and torn quite a bit and the characters written on it were hard to read. Upon looking a little closer, Mion saw the words _DO NOT OPEN NO MATTER WHAT_ written on the piece of paper. Shrugging, Mion tossed the paper behind her shoulder and began to pick at the heavy lock that sealed the cabinet shut. Unfortunately, she couldn't seem to get the lock open. Grumbling, Mion ran out of the room. All the keys to the cages and such were kept in another room. There would surely be a key for the cabinet there. When she found that room, she instantly spotted a giant ring of keys lying on a table. There must have been twenty of thirty keys attached. She snatched it up greedily, dangling it in front of her face. Then, she ran back to the other room and began to test out the many keys on the lock. "Not this one," she grumbled as she tested a key. She tried a second one, only for the same exact thing to happen. She tried out many, many keys until she came to the one she was looking for. Mion inserted a single, rusty key that fit perfectly into the lock and twisted it. The lock snapped off, falling to the ground with a thud.

Mion tore the doors open and grinned as she saw what was inside. Several knives of all different kinds were lay out along with other thrilling weapons that could be used to kill a person in a number of gruesome ways. However, that was not the thing that caught her eye. In the center lay a giant katana, one made of the shiniest silver metal. Its hilt was decorated with many ancient patterns and was almost completely covered with dusty. Taking it into her hands, Mion blew off the dust and grinned at the weapon. It was very beautiful. "Ah, yes. The katana with the spirits of a thousand demons sealed inside," Mion spoke, holding up the sword. It glistened in the light of a lamp that was attached to the ceiling. Mion could see her own reflection in it. Looking into the sword, she realized that her smile was twisted with evil intention. It didn't matter to her, really. She was a demon, after all.

As Mion brought it close to her, she could hear whispering being emitted from it. "Kill, kill," voices from the sword spoke, "kill the humans and eat their flesh." Ayame's tale never said anything about the spirits being able to _speak. _Then again, who knows who wrote down the story? Ayame herself didn't write it, as she had already been dead when it was written. Perhaps only demons could hear the voices. "Tear the humans, kill the humans. Rip out their guts and _kill!_" the spirits whispered.

Mion grabbed the sword's sheath from inside the cabinet and attached it to her back. Slowly, she slid the demonic sword in. She would need it later. After all, she had some pests to get rid of. With a sigh, Mion sat down on a few cushions that covered up a small bench. She fiddled with the fabric as she thought about what she was to do. Which one of them was she to kill first? There was a lot she needed to think about. She couldn't allow anyone to catch her in the kill. '_I think I'll kill that little pink-haired brat first. She's done a lot more to me than Rena has,' _Mion decided, thinking back into her recovered memories. Etsuko had always been a pain, even when she was little. Mion could remember it well.

~~~~X~~~~

_A young Mion around the age of nine stood outside of her school building. It was time for gym class, and all activities had been finished. At this time, she went to a big school in Okinomiya along with a few of her friends in Hinamizawa. Her parents were trying to give her a good education, though they stopped sending her to this school when they realized that Mion wasn't ever going to bother with her homework or studies. The teacher had given them some free time to run around and play before they moved on to their next class._

_ "Hey, Hajime! Let's play a game, shall we?" Mion spoke, a huge grin on her face as she held a ball in her hand. _

_ The young boy that stood beside her blinked. He was around her age though slightly younger. "Oh, sure! How about if we play catch together?" the boy called Hajime suggested._

_ The young girl smiled at him. "Okay. That's kind of a boring game, but sure!"_

_ Mion tossed the ball over to the boy across from her, who then caught it with ease before sending it flying back to her. Mion took a step back and threw the ball again. The ball hit Hajime's hands and attempted to grab at it. However, he failed and the ball ended up on the ground. "Darn! And I almost had that one too!" he spoke, frowning._

_ Mion laughed. "You're so clumsy, you know that?" she joked, picking the ball up from the dirty ground and tossing it at his head. The ball hit him rather hard, causing him to rub his head in pain._

_ "Man, Mion! You're such a weirdo at times!" he laughed. "Hitting your best friend… really?" he joked._

_ "You know I didn't mean it!" she replied._

_ Hajime scooped the ball up in his arms, cradling it to his chest. "I know, I know," he replied, tossing the ball up in the air and catching it again. "Do you want to go find Aoi and Ryota? I'm sure they'll want to play, too! Then we can probably play something other than catch," he suggested, gesturing over to a bunch of kids who were all crowded in the grassy area of the playground. "You know, since catch IS kind of boring."_

_ Mion seemed to like the suggestion. After all, it was much more fun playing with a whole bunch of kids. "Yeah, let's go find the others!"_

_ The two friends ran into the crowd of kids, desperately searching for their other friends. It was rather hard to find them with so many kids. There were much, much more people in the Okinomiya School compared to the school in Hinamizawa. People from both Hinamizawa and Okinomiya went to this school. Mion pushed through the crowd, glancing about. She didn't socialize with very many of the kids as she found a lot of them to be just plain rude. She had chosen a select few to hang with. They were like an unbreakable family._

_ "Aoi! Ryota! Over here!" Mion called to two young children who were sitting in the grass, having a conversation. They had isolated themselves from the other children as they had also decided that they did not want to play with the other children. The two children looked over to the source of the voice and instantly stood up when they recognized that the voice belonged to their friend. _

_ "Hey, Mion!" a young girl with light blue hair spoke while she waved her hand frantically to the green-haired girl. "Me and Ryota were just discussing what we were going to be playing today!"_

_ The boy next to her named Ryota nodded. "Yeah! We thought we'd play a super special game this time!" he explained. "You know, something we don't usually play!"_

_ Hajime bounded over to his two friends, smiling widely at them. "Hello, Aoi! Hello, Ryota! Mion and I were playing catch but we got a little bored. We were also thinking of playing a special game. How about if we play zombie tag? I haven't played that in forever!" he suggested. _

_ The girl who was called Aoi nodded her head. "I like that idea. What about you, Ryota, Mion?"_

_ Ryota nodded. "Yeah, that sounds like fun!"_

_ "Sure thing!" Mion replied._

_ And so, it was set in stone. They were to play zombie tag today, a game that they did not often play. They'd often play games with the ball or they'd just stick to a simple of game of hide and seek. However, they often grew bored of playing the same thing over and over again. There weren't really any places to hide, anyways. _

_ "Who wants to be the zombie?" Hajime asked, glancing around his group of four friends._

_ Ryota's hand instantly shot up. "I want to be the zombie! I want to be the zombie!" he called out excitedly. Whenever there was a chance to be it, Ryota would always volunteer. He considered himself to be a strong person who could fend for himself and often tried to show off that pride in any form he could think of. "Oh oh! Please let me be the zombie! PLEASE!"_

_ A chorus of laughter broke out from Mion, Aoi, and Hajime. They found Ryota's need to show off his pride too hilarious sometimes. "Okay, you're zombie," laughed Hajime. "Now give us ten seconds and then you can go and gobble us up!"_

_ Ryota covered his eyes with his hands and began to count off. As he did, the three remaining friends ran off as fast as their legs could go. None of them wanted to be the first to get caught. That would just be plain embarrassing! Mion dashed around the garden, deciding that she certainly would not be caught this time. She knew exactly where she was going to hide this time. The green-haired girl jumped into the area of the garden filled with flowers and crouched down among them, careful not to ruin any of their petals. The teachers would be outraged if even one of the flowers were crushed._

_ Nearby scampering could be heard. Out of the corner of her eye, Mion caught sight of Hajime running away from Ryota who was only inches behind him while Aoi laughed, unseen by Ryota. "I'm going to die!" screamed Hajime, trying to pick up the pace of his running. Ryota reached a hand out to touch his back, just barely missing him. Using the rest of his strength, Ryota sped up and grasped onto the other boy's shirt, causing him to halt._

_ "You're a zombie now, Hajime!" cried Ryota._

_ Hajime frowned, rubbing his neck. "Darn it! I was hoping I'd win this time," he grumbled. _

_ In the distance, Aoi was trying her best not to be heard. She slowly began to step away, only to trip and land on the ground. Hajime and Ryota whipped around and ran at the girl, eager to take down another friend. Aoi screeched and shot up, scampering away as fast as her legs would allow her. With two against one, however, Aoi was bound to fall sometime. _

_ Ryota and Hajime decided to use teamwork. Ryota sped up and ran at Aoi from the side, causing her to change directions. Hajime used this as an opportunity to run at her from the front. She was now surrounded. There was no longer any escape. Realizing that any more attempts to run away were futile, Aoi froze in place, allowing Hajime and Ryota to tag her. The two of them lunged forward. But to her surprise, they did not grab her or anything like that. Instead, they tickled her. Aoi began to laugh as their fingers tickled her stomach and under her armpits. "I can't take it!" she cried out. "Stop it you guys! Stop it!" she repeated over and over again through her laughs._

_ Finally, the two boys drew away from her, smiling. "Okay! Now let's get Mion!"_

_ Mion gulped. They surely wouldn't notice her among the flowers, right? But then again, that was too boring. She needed a little more action in this game. Deciding that she'd take a risk, she jumped up on her two legs and hopped out of the flower garden. "Hey guys! I'm right here!" she called to them. Her three friends turned to look at her. Smirking, Mion dashed away. _

_ "After her!" screamed Ryota. And with that, the three of them ran off to catch the fast green-haired girl. It seemed as if she was always the last person standing. Mion was good, that was for sure. She giggled as she looked behind her, seeing that the other three were far behind. They had gotten themselves worn out by running so much before. Mion stuck her tongue out at them to motivate the others run even faster, wanting a little more thrill. It worked perfectly, and the three of them increased their speed. Mion laughed a bit at their determined and rather angry expressions. _

_ "Haha! You'll never catch me!" cried Mion. Unfortunately for her, however, she wasn't looking where she was going and ended up crashing into the building. _

_ Ryota halted. "Whoa, Mion!" he cried out in alarm, "are you alright there?"_

_ Mion felt a sharp pain in her head and she rubbed it over and over again, grumbling. She felt annoyed with herself. She should have seen that coming! As best as she could, she shook off the pain and looked up at her three friends, smiling. "I'm fine! I was just acting a little stupid!"_

_ And with that, the four friends broke out in laughter. _

~~~~X~~~~

Those had been the good times. Mion sighed as she recalled such times. She missed her old friends in a way. Well, most of them, anyways. However, she had found more friends who were much more loyal save for Rena as she had fallen in love with Keiichi even though she knew that Mion had a deep love for him. However, things changed as time when on. And it was all because of that stupid pest called Etsuko. When she came into her life, she turned everything upside down.

Mion rolled her body over. Then, she took the sword out of its sheath and pulled the cursed katana to her chest as close as she could without injuring herself. She had to wonder where some of her friend went after the whole incident. After all, only two people were killed though others were injured. Not that it really mattered. Keiichi was the only person she needed. Her other friends couldn't be trusted, especially not that girl who ruined her entire life.

~~~~X~~~~

_"Class, I'd like you to meet a new student," spoke the teacher, a nice young woman who was not very strict on her students. "This is Ohba Etsuko. She's nine years old right now, so a little younger than most of you," the teacher explained, gesturing to the young girl that stood next to her. She had black hair and purple eyes and was grinning widely as she observed her fellow students. "Ohba-san, will you introduce yourself?"_

_ The girl nodded. "Of course! As they said already, my name is Ohba Etsuko. I'm already friends with Bunko from this class, but I hope to meet tons of friends!" she spoke, throwing up her hands in the air for emphasis. _

_ The teacher smiled. "Alright, Ohba-san. Why don't you go sit next to Yamakawa-san?" she suggested, pointing to the free seat next to Hajime. Etsuko nodded her head and walked over to the empty seat, pulling it out and sitting down. She looked over to the boy on her left and smiled at him. _

_ "Hello! I'm Etsuko. Who are you?" she asked, giving him the cutest smile she could possibly manage._

_ Such a friendly greeting from someone he didn't know left Hajime in shock. New people usually threw him away as an outcast. Now, a girl was greeting him without thinking he was weird or anything like that. This forced him to blush. "Ur, I'm Yamakawa Hajime. I-I'm ten years old right now! I… It's nice to meet you!" he said, stammering a little bit. _

_ Etsuko titled her head to the side and giggled. "You're talking funny. I think it's kind of cute," she spoke._

_ Hajime's face flustered even more. "Er! Yes, yes! I mean, thank you! Uh, no I mean!" he spoke, trying to come up with words. But for some reason, it appeared as if the words coming out of his mouth weren't forming properly. It was as if something was shaking them up._

_ Mion drummed her fingers on her desk as she watched her friend. He seemed to be so nervous around the girl for some strange reason. It was rather irritating. Her, him, Aoi, and Ryota had been the best of buddies for so long, and here came this girl who was grabbing all of Hajime's attention. _

_ Things only worsened at lunch. Ryota, Aoi, Mion, and Hajime began to place their bento boxes at their normal four-person table. It was the table that they sat at every single day. Never did they sit anywhere else in the classroom. It was a table that was located away from the others so that no one could hear what they were talking about. They'd probably make fun of them for talking about such strange matters. Just as they all sat down and began to eat, however, Etsuko came strolling up with another girl at her side._

_ "Hey! Hajime! Why don't you come here and eat with me and Bunko?" she suggested. "There isn't enough room at this table for me and her, so."  
, Hajime blushed a little bit and stood up, his bento box in hand. "O-Of course!" he stammered, clutching onto the box that he held tightly. Mion swore, it looked like the food in the box was experiencing a major earthquake due to how shaky Hajime was. "I'll go sit with you guys!"_

_ The girl named Bunko smiled. "Yeah, that's awesome! You look like such a friendly guy. You don't need the others. Just bring yourself," she said, glancing to the three other people still seated at the desk. They both shrunk away in their seats, though used to such insults. _

_ He gave his friends an apologetic look before wandering off to go eat with the two girls. He too used to be insulted by Bunko. But now that he was invited to go sit with her, he took off. Wasn't the point of their little group of friends to ignore all the other people and to just be with each other? _

_ "…Hajime…" murmured Ryota. "How could he…"_

_ Aoi looked down at her feet. "…I thought he was our friend."_

_ Silence followed for a few moments. None of them really knew what to say. A few moments later, however, Ryota stood up, confidence in his eyes._

_ "Well if he doesn't need me, I don't need him! I'm a strong person! I've lived alone without any family in a small house for so many years, so I can go all by myself!" he cried out. Then, he scooped up his bento box in his arms and looked down at the two girls. "I'm sorry, but I'm leaving," he spoke. With that, Ryota turned himself around and stormed off to one of the smaller tables to eat all by himself, leaving behind two very confused girls._

_ Aoi stared down into her bento box, picking at her food with her chopsticks. "Ignore Ryota. You know how he is. He… he thinks he's really so strong and stuff. He doesn't mean it. He's just pretending that he doesn't need us so he can look strong and all that stuff," she murmured, mixing the white rice contained in the bento box. For some reason, it didn't seem all that appealing to her. _

_ Mion nodded, knowing fully well how Ryota behaved. She didn't quite understand why it was so important to him to show off how brave he was. Ryota's parents were killed several years ago and he now lived alone in a house in the forest of Hinamizawa. He'd often show off how great it was that he could manage living by himself without any parents and made sure that the rest of his friends knew that very well. "Yeah. I don't really understand him…" she murmured. _

_ And that day, the two of them ate lunch alone. However, things only got worse for Mion the very next day at lunch. The day had gone by as normal, though she noticed that Hajime would often whisper a few things in Etsuko's ear, causing her to giggle a little bit. He never spoke a word to Mion, Aoi, or Ryota during this time. How could the appearance of one person shake him up so much? With a sigh, Mion grabbed her bento box from her cubby and held it to her chest. She walked over to the normal table located near the edge of the classroom without thinking very much. However, she halted when she came to it and looked down upon it. Sitting in all four of the seats were Hajime, Bunko, Etsuko, and Aoi. They were all laughing happily as they took bites of their food, telling jokes in between chewing. _

_ "Oh, hey!" Hajime greeted. "Do you want to pull up a chair?"_

_ Aoi pointed to a table nearby. "You can you grab a chair from over there."_

_ Etsuko, however, looked at her with a huge frown on her face. "Sorry, but there isn't any room for you."_

_ Bunko nodded. "Yeah, she's right! There's no room for you! No room at all!"  
Hajime glanced around as his new friends, slightly confused by their behavior. "Wait a moment. Mion can just pull up a chair or something like that!" he protested. "She can sit with us!"  
However, Bunko shook her head. "No she can't. There's no room on the table!" she pointed out._

_ "Well she can-" Aoi began to suggest before being cut off._

_ Mion didn't really care anymore. If her friends were going to break their little group up with these two new people, she didn't want to be around them anymore. Etsuko and Bunko were rude to her and that wasn't going to change. "No, Aoi. It's okay. I think I'll go sit with Ryota. He's not all that strong," she murmured. _

_ She flipped her whole body around and began to wander over to the small table where Ryota was eating his lunch quietly. In her head, she felt a little jealous over how Aoi was accepted but she wasn't. What did she do to make herself seem so weird? It didn't really make any sense to her. "I hate her," Mion whispered, "I hate that Etsuko brat…"_

~~~~X~~~~

Mion frowned at the memory. Perhaps she was being a little stubborn at the time, but she was only ten years old then. A ten-year-old girl could be rather picky about such matters. Besides, what was done was done. No matter how much one wanted to, no one could possibly change the past. Mion held the katana up, gazing into its silver blade. She felt many ominous presences from within it. There was no doubt that this sword contained the souls of demons. It was not a legend. She could clearly sense their presence and she could even hear their voices.

"…Kill, tear, rip, slash, kill," chanted the voices from within. "Eat the flesh of humans. Rip open their stomachs and tear out their intestines!"

Mion ran her finger down her face reflected in the silver metal. She too was a demon. It was a rather strange thought. She had always believed that she was a human. Now, suddenly, she had come to a realization that she was in no way a human. Her body surely looked like a normal human girl, but she had never once been human. She was born demon, not human. "Yeah, that's right. I'm a demon," she spoke.

"…Friend," the voices of the sword spoke. "…You… are like us. You are our friend."

Mion blinked at the sword. Before, it had just been uttering random words. Now, it appeared as if it were really _talking_ to her. "Excuse me, but are you talking to me?" she asked, feeling a little silly about talking to an inanimate object.

"…Yes. We are talking to you, friend," the sword spoke. "You… we have been waiting for your birth for years… master."

Mion's eyes widened to the size of platters. "Wait, what are you talking about? What do you mean by master?" she asked the sword, staring at it with confused and shocked eyes.

"You are the only one of us alive," the voices of the demon spirits whispered, "We are all dead. So many Sonozakis have tried to handle this sword since Ayame was killed. But they all failed to take in our power. Only a demon can control us. We have been waiting years and years for your birth, comrade."

Try as she might, Mion was unable to see any of the spirits in the sword's reflection. They were surely in there, though. Their forms had been destroyed and their spirits had been absorbed, trapping them for eternity. "Will you help me then? You guys will help me destroy the pests that took Kei-chan away from me?" she asked the sword.

"Of course," the voices spoke. "Anything for our queen."

"Queen?" Mion repeated.

"Yes," the many spirits spoke in their demonic voices, "you are the only demon alive. Therefore, you are our queen. We will obey you, so use this sword however you wish."

Mion smiled a little at the sword. It felt odd talking to demons that were now reduced to mere spirits, but she did not mind. If they were to help her take care of Rena and Etsuko and get to Keiichi, she'd do anything. "Thank you, my friends," she spoke before standing up. She stared at her reflection in the katana's blade once more before she slid it in its sheath on her back. With that, she stepped out of the underground torture chamber, locking the doors tightly. She hoped that her demonic powers would be enough to kill Etsuko and Rena and that she wouldn't have to bother sneaking them in the underground torture chamber. It would be so much easier if she just used her powers. Smiling at the thought of their dying screams, Mion walked back into the Sonozaki Manor. There wasn't much more time until they would be finished off once and for all. Soon, Keiichi would belong to her and only to her. _He'll love me more than anyone else in the whole world. I just know he will! _Mion thought as she wandered down the empty and dark hallways of the Sonozaki Manor. She opened the door to her room and stepped inside, looking around to make sure that Shion wasn't there. Upon verifying that she wasn't, Mion closed the door and ran to her dresser. She flung one of the drawers open began to throw her clothes on the floor, digging through the fabric. "Aha! There it is," she spoke as she pulled out her white kimono. It was the same one the Green-Eyed Demon had worn when she had a separate form. She did not want to get her normal clothes stained with blood. She threw off her clothes and pulled the kimono on her before looking at herself in the mirror. She ran her hands through her hair, admiring her figure.

"Surely I'll look much more beautiful to Keiichi in this," she spoke to herself. "Shame that I'll probably get it stained with blood."

Mion scooped up the sheath and reattached it to her back. It was now time for her to get rid of those pests once and for all. No one would be around during the night of the Watanagashi. All the elders were probably off getting themselves drunk around the Furude Shrine and would probably go on until midnight. That left her with plenty of time. _I'm a demon, so it shouldn't take me very long to dispose of those pests. I'm sure it'll be really easy!_

The demon walked out of her house, wondering where that Etsuko was at. _Maybe she's there? _Mion thought, glancing about the area. _No wait, she could be there… Yeah. Maybe she's there._

~~~~X~~~~

Etsuko let out a long sigh. The night of the Watanagashi festival brought back too many painful memories. Now, she was to take revenge for those painful memories. She had waited so long for this day, just to get back at that one person who ruined her life. For weeks she had planed out this scheme, and now, finally, she'd get to taste the sweet revenge in the form of Mion's blood. She smiled at the idea. Hajime would be avenged. She climbed up on a rock and sat there, gazing over the area. A river was running through the area, it's flow carrying wads of fluffy, white cotton. This was the very place where Mion had ripped Hajime apart and scarred her and her friends forever.

She had done so much just to carry out this plan. She had even dyed her naturally black hair an ugly pink color. She heavily disliked pink, but she picked it because she figured it would make her seem naïve and innocent.

~~~~X~~~~

_A young girl with black hair glanced about the merry festival ground. She had no idea a festival could be this fun. Over in the city she used to live, there were never any festivals. She had heard about the occasional August festival in the area but her parents had never allowed her to go. She only went once after her parents passed and her aunt and uncle took her in. She had always been forced to stay in the city, studying her butt off. She hated that. School was something that wasn't very important to her. Besides, she was only nine years old. School and grades didn't really matter when someone was that young._

_ At her side were her three friends, Hajime, Aoi, and Bunko. Ryota was also standing awkwardly with them, having no other place to go. She didn't like Ryota very much. She found his tendency to show off his power very irritating. Bunko and Aoi had become her loyal friends a few days after she had transferred here. Hajime, on the other hand, was a very good friend, but Etsuko felt something else for him. He was a very cute person. Etsuko had to admit that she had a rather large crush on him. He was always very kind to her. The moment she saw him, she knew there was something special about him. She knew that she had to make him her friend._

_ Hajime had been friends with a girl called Mion before. Etsuko had tried speaking to Mion a few times, but she always seemed to ignore her. Etsuko thought that she was a very rude person. Besides, it seemed a little like she had a crush on Hajime. She couldn't allow that. Only she could love her Hajime. _

_ "How about if we go watch the ceremony soon?" Bunko suggested, "I'm sure it'll be tons of fun!"_

_ Aoi nodded. "Yeah, the ceremony is so cool to watch," she agreed. _

_ Ryota said nothing; he just kicked the dirt on the ground awkwardly. He didn't really feel like speaking to them. He just had nowhere else to be. _

_ "Yeah! The ceremony starts in a bit. Let's walk over there so we can stand in the front!" cried Etsuko. Without thinking, she grabbed onto Hajime's hand and tugged on it, telling him to go with her. He blushed at the feel of her hand against his skin. They all ran to the front of the Furude Shrine, eager to get a good spot before they called everyone over. If they didn't get there early, surely they wouldn't be able to see through all the people. They all gathered around the large shrine, gasping at how amazing it was. The Furude Shrine was surely a sight to see, especially at the Watanagashi Festival. _

_ A small hand tugged on Etsuko's, causing her to whip around to look at the source. It was Hajime. "Etsuko, let's talk for a little bit. Just you and me, okay? No one else needs to come. We'll just talk behind the shrine," he said. Etsuko nodded, wondering what it was he had to say to her. Perhaps it had something to do with what he had been trying to tell her the other day. _

_ The two of them walked away from their friends and went behind the great Furude Shrine, obscuring them from everyone else's view. For a moment, no words were exchanged between the two children. Hajime fidgeted a bit, trying to find the words to speak. _

_ "So… you know how I said I liked you the other day?" Hajime said. _

_ Etsuko nodded. "Yeah, and?"_

_ Hajime kicked the dust piled up, embarrassed. "Well, I didn't mean as a friend. I meant it like… I like you. I like like you. Like that," he spoke, a thick blush covering most of his face. _

_ Etsuko was shocked. She didn't know how to respond. Joy rose up inside of her, blocking off the words of acceptance. She closed her mouth, trying to figure out how to accept him. "I… I like…. I mean… same. Same here," she spoke, stumbling over her words out of sheer embarrassment. She looked at the floor, trying to hide the blush she knew was plastered all over her face. "I really… really, really like you," she whispered._

_ Hajime grinned nervously. "I'm glad, I'm glad!" he spoke, relief washing over him. "I was worried that you'd say you don't like me," he said, finally able to breath again. _

_ Etsuko smiled at him, overjoyed. "What made you think that I wouldn't like you? I was concerned that you wouldn't like me!" she laughed. "I thought you might like that Mion girl or something."_

_ Hajime looked startled "No way! She's just a friend of mine. Speaking of which, I haven't seen her today," he spoke, glancing about the nearby grounds. She hadn't shown up at the meeting spot they had planed. He had invited her to come and play with them, but she hadn't come. For some reason, she had been distant from them recently. He figured it might have to do with Bunko and Etsuko as they were always giving her nasty looks. He felt rather bad for her, but he did not want to lose Etsuko and Bunko as friends. _

_ "Thank god!" sighed Etsuko. "You always acted like you like her. I'm glad that… that you like me," she spoke in a tone no louder than a whisper. _

_ Hajime walked up to the girl and embraced her tightly. She buried her head into his shoulder, smiling into it. "I'll always be there for you, and I'll never leave you. Never ever. You can count on me!" he vowed. _

_ Etsuko nodded. "I believe in you," she whispered into his shoulder, believing every single word he said. She had no idea that that night would be the very last time he'd ever see him. _

~~~~X~~~~

Etsuko drummed her fingers on the rock, a feeling of warmth spreading in her stomach as she remembered the boy she had fallen in love with. Never did she spend a day without thinking about him. He was just too strong of a memory to let go. He was so perfect. He was cute, nice, and overall just an amazing person. Sometimes, she found it hard to believe that he was actually dead. It was as if his spirit was following her around, whispering in her ear to avenge him. She had made up her mind long ago to avenge him by killing that monster that had invaded her life. If it weren't for her, perhaps Hajime and her would still be in love, together forever.

She embraced herself tightly, pretending that her arms were Hajime's. Perhaps in a sense they were. Perhaps he was still following her around, waiting until Mion was dead. "Don't you worry, Hajime. It will all be over tonight. That demon won't be alive anymore after this. You can finally rest in peace knowing the thing that killed you is now gone," she spoke out loud as if he were really there right beside her. "I promise you I won't fail on this mission. I've been trying to do this for so, so long."

Etsuko glanced to a certain spot on the grass. That spot was the very spot where Mion had tore him up until he died. Etsuko could remember that time like it happened just a few seconds ago. It was the most painful memory and the most gruesome one she had. She was certain that she'd remember it for the rest of her life.

~~~~X~~~~

_"This is a nice spot, isn't it?" Hajime commented, standing in front of the flowing river. "You can see all the cotton from the futon drifting down from here!"_

_ Indeed, there was a whole bunch of cotton coming down the river. There must have been hundreds of pieces. He was sitting right in front of the river, his eyes gleaming at the beauty of the sight before him. "I bet you that one over there was the one that I drifted!" he spoke, pointing to a certain piece of fluffy cotton drifting down the river near him. "And the one next to that one is probably yours, Etsuko!"_

_ Etsuko sat next to him, nodding her head. "Yeah, that's probably right! I made sure to set mine right down next to yours, Hajime!" she said, smiling at him. _

_ Aoi sighed at the two of them. "Wow you two. You're all lovely and stuff. You do realize we're only kids, right?" she spoke, placing her hands on her hips. "It's not really love."_

_ Etsuko whipped around, glaring at her with enraged eyes. "It is love!" she snapped at her. "We both love each other more than anything else in the whole world. Isn't that right, Hajime?" she spoke, poking the boy's side._

_ Hajime nodded. "Yeah, that's right," he said, smiling warmly at the girl he had feelings for. "We love each other very much."_

_ Aoi frowned and turned away. "Bunko, don't you think that they're going a little bit overboard with all this love stuff?" she asked the girl standing next to her. _

_ Bunko opened her mouth to speak, but closed it. She didn't want to share her opinion, knowing that someone would be hurt by what she said. "I don't have any comments," she murmured before going off to sit by the river as well. She stuck a finger in the cold river, making patterns in the surface of the water. "Though tonight is very beautiful, isn't it? I mean, you can see the stars perfectly!" _

_ On the other side of Hajime was Ryota, sitting silent. He wasn't sure what to say. To be honest, he was feeling a little awkward about the whole situation. Aoi and Hajime weren't really his friends anymore after Etsuko transferred in and Mion hadn't been seen at all that night. He too was playing with the ripples in the water, having nothing else to do with himself. He found the cold temperature of the water rather cooling to not just his body but his spirits as well. It made him feel rather relaxed. Perhaps he'd try speaking today and show the others that he really was a strong person. _

_ "You know what? I think the Watanagashi was fun!" he spoke so suddenly with such intensity that it startled all the people around him. "I want to come back and have an even better time next year!"_

_ Bunko gave Ryota a strange look. "Ryuga-san, that's the first time you've spoken. Are you feeling alright?" she asked, placing her hand on his forehead to check his temperature. "Maybe you're sick or something like that."_

_ Ryota shook his head as fast as he could. "Nope, I'm not sick! If I were sick, then I wouldn't be Ryuga Ryota! I feel perfectly fine, thank you very much!" he spoke, standing up as if to prove his point. He raised a fist in his air just to show off a little bit and then sat back down, feeling a little weird. "See look! I'm perfectly strong! I might just be the strongest person here!"_

_ Etsuko sighed, shaking her head. "That guy can be so weird at times," she commented, turning back to the river. The amount of cotton that past them on the river was slowly decreasing. Soon, it would be time for them to go back home. It was getting late, after all. They just wanted a little more time with each other before they went back._

_ Silence followed in which no one really knew what to say. All of them were looking out into the river save for Aoi, who was looking over her shoulder and to the bushes behind her. "Um, guys? Did you hear something coming from the bushes, or is it just me?" she asked, giving the clumps of green a glance. _

_ Etsuko shook her head. "No, I didn't hear anything. Stop worrying, I'm sure it's just an animal or something," she spoke, waving her hand as if to dismiss the subject. _

_ Yet, Aoi still remained staring at the bushes for a good amount of time. "Hey guys? I heard it again," she spoke, staring at the bushes as if trying to see straight into them. Etsuko turned around to say to her that there wasn't anything in the bushes, but something caught her eye. The bushes were rustling for some strange reason. And this wasn't just normal rustling. It looked as if there were a mini earthquake occurring in the bushes. It was unlike when a small animal explored the bushes, only causing a small racket. _

_ "Hey, guys, what do you think-" Aoi never got to finish her sentence. Her question was answered even before she could even ask it. Out of the bushes jumped Mion, her whole head covered in leaves that had fallen off the bushes and on to her. Her face was pointed down and no one could read what kind of expression she wore on her face. Was she upset because they hadn't included her into their games? Etsuko couldn't tell. _

_ "Hey, Mion!" Hajime greeted, a smile on his face. "Where were y-" he never got to finish. At that moment, Mion looked up at them, revealing a pair of glowing green eyes. Her arms were trembling violently and she was breathing heavily. Hajime's smile instantly faded away and sheer horror replaced it. "W-What the heck, Mion? W… What's with your eyes?" he spoke, staring into the enraged, glowing, green eyes of Sonozaki Mion._

_ "Et… su… ko," rasped Mion, paying no attention the horrified boy. "How could you… how could you!" she spoke, pure anger plaguing her usual happy tone. _

_ Etsuko gasped at the horrific sight of the deranged Mion. She stared at Etsuko's purple eyes with intent to kill in her own, her gaze now more frightening. At that moment, Etsuko was sure. She had never seen something more horrifying in all her life. "It's your fault!" Mion screeched, "all your fault!" Without warning, Mion charged at the black-haired girl. Etsuko reacted quick and tumbled out of the way, causing Mion to crash into Hajime instead. The poor boy yelped as he felt something sharp bury into his skin. Mion grumbled as she ripped her hand away from the boy's arm, staring at her hands. At the end of each finger, there was a long, sharp, white claw instead of a fingernail. They were now dripping with Hajime's blood. She quickly wiped the blood off her claws and onto the tree, creating scratch marks. _

_ "Oh, so you're going to run away and injure your lovely Hajime instead? Not much of a loyal person, now are you?" sneered Mion. She held up her white claws, showing them off to the younger girl as a threat. She lunged forward again, aiming for her heart. Etsuko screamed, ducking right before her claws pierced into her heart. Unfortunately, she was a bit too slow, and her claws drove into her shoulder instead. Etsuko screeched out in pain. Mion smirked and pulled out her claws before holding her arm up and bringing it down on her stomach, creating deep marks on it. Blood flowed from the cut as Etsuko continued to scream, breathing heavily. _

_ "Stop it, Mion!" yelled Hajime, still grabbing onto his bleeding arm. "Don't do this!" Mion ignored her old friend's protests, however, and continued slashing Etsuko. She scratched at her arms and legs, creating long lines running down her limbs. "I said stop it!" screamed Hajime as he dashed forward. He head-butted Etsuko out of the way just as Mion lunged forward for another slash. He felt sharp claws run across his chest, nearly digging into his flesh._

_Aoi and Bunko stood there, horrified. It was as if their feet had been glued to the floor. They found themselves unable to move out of sheer horror. Ryota on the other hand, was watching, slowly shaking his head. "No, no," he whispered over and over again._

_ "Alright, if that's how you want it then. I'll just have to improvise!" Mion cackled. She grasped onto one of his hands, burying her claws into his flesh to keep him steady. She then used her other hand to claw at his whole body. Scratch marks appeared on his legs, arms, chest, and stomach. She wouldn't stop scratching. It was like she was a cat and he was her scratching post. She found the whole experience rather thrilling. She laughed and laughed at Hajime's screams, finding it more entertaining the louder they got. _

_ "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" screeched Etsuko, feeling faint from losing so much blood. She could barely move her body. "Someone, help him! I can't move!" she screamed over to the other people. Aoi and Bunko were covering their ears and looking away, not wanting to see the sight before them. "Aoi! Bunko!" she called to them. "Help him! SAVE HIM!"_

_ It was no use. Her voice was growing weaker and weaker and Aoi and Bunko had blocked out their ears. She had to think of something else. She gave a glance to a frightened Ryota in the corner who was just watching as Mion made minced meat out of Hajime. "RYOTA!" she called to him, knowing very well that he could hear her. "RYOTA! STOP MION RIGHT NOW!" she screamed out. Ryota slowly shook his head, backing away. "RYOTA! AREN'T YOU A STRONG PERSON? YOU ALWAYS SAID THAT! GO SAVE HAJIME! PROVE TO ME THAT YOU'RE STRONG!" she used all her might to yell out to him. Ryota's eyes were wide with fear as he slowly took a few more steps back. Then, he turned around and dashed into the trees, ignoring Etsuko's cries._

_ "RYOOOOOOOOOOOOTAAAAAAAAA!" screamed Etsuko. But it was no use. The boy had already gone away, leaving his friends to die._

_ A large screech came out from Hajime, sounding like a chicken that was being strangled. Mion was laughing manically as she plunged her claws in and out of his flesh, finding that she liked the feeling. She stopped clawing and moved her mouth to his neck. She opened up wide, revealing a pair of large, sharp fangs. She bit down on his neck once before removing it only a second. Blood flowed from the two teeth marks that were made, and more screaming from Hajime ensued. Suddenly, his cries faded away. He made no more noise and his body grew limp. Mion smiled, standing up and brushing her hands together. "That's one. Who wants to be next?" she spoke, eyeing Bunko and Aoi. "Etsuko… I'll wait a bit to finish her off. Who is next?" she repeated._

_ "NO! HAJIME! NOT MY HAJIMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" screeched Etsuko, feeling a huge hole being burst in her heart as she saw him go limp. At that moment, she knew. There was no doubt about it. Hajime was dead. _

_ Neither of them answered, leaving Mion to figure that out for herself. She positioned herself as she pounced on Bunko, her claws outstretched. She then began to tear at her much like she tore at Hajime before, laughing at the girl's screams. "Aoi! Etsuko!" she cried out, "can't you help me?" Mion's claws had touched almost all of her flesh, tearing part of it open. When she had finished with tearing Bunko, she moved on to do the same thing to poor Aoi. Etsuko tried to scream, but no words came out. Her vision began to blur and blacken, only barely picking up the screeches coming out of the girls in front of her. _

_ Mion finished with Aoi, smearing a nearby tree trunk with crimson blood. She rubbed it everywhere, making a huge smudge unrecognizable as a handprint. She then focused her vision on Etsuko, who had given up on crying for help. She felt so helpless. Her friends would surely die and she couldn't do anything about it. Surely, she'd die as well. Mion walked up to Etsuko who was barely hanging on and smiled. "Save the best for last, huh? Don't worry, I'll make your death quick," she whispered into her ear. _

_ The last thing Etsuko saw was Mion's glowing green eyes, filled with madness before black swallowed her consciousness whole._

~~~~X~~~~

_ Etsuko slowly opened her eyes. Everything around her was white. Surely this wasn't where she had been attacked. Blinking twice, Etsuko tried to remember the events from last night. What had happened? Why the heck was she still alive? She tried to sit up, but then decided that was probably a bad idea. She opened her mouth to speak, but found that it was hard to. "Where… am I?" she whispered, unable to process anything around her._

_ "Good! Y-You're awake!" a familiar voice spoke from beside her. Etsuko glanced to her right to find Ryota sitting on a stool beside her bed, smiling nervously at her. "I was afraid you'd end up like Tatsuko-san," he spoke._

_ "…Bunko," murmured Etsuko, still not processing anything. _

_ A sad look appeared on Ryota's face, and he nodded. "Yeah. She didn't make it after losing so much blood. Koizumi-san is okay, though. The doctors said she'd be fine with a bit of rest," he explained to her._

_ "…Aoi," muttered Etsuko._

_ Ryota nodded again. "I'm surprised you made it, though. I guess that means we've only lost Yamakawa-san and Tatsuko-san," he spoke. _

_ "Hajime," whispered Etsuko, trying to put the pieces together. What did he mean by not make it? Then, she remembered. Memories of the previous night came rushing back to her. Hajime was dead and according to Ryota, so was Bunko. How did she make it? It didn't really make any sense to her. Speaking of which, what about Ryota? Ryota was just sitting there, smiling without any injuries on his body whatsoever. Oh yeah, that was right. Ryota had run away in fear last night, refusing to help Hajime. He had left them to die._

_ Slowly, Etsuko pulled herself up, staring at Ryota with unfriendly eyes. "You… you ran away," she growled at him._

_ Ryota jumped, trembling. "Y-Yeah. I did. I'm sorry. I didn't want to die," he spoke, feeling a little ashamed. He looked down at his feet, not wanting to see whatever expression she wore on her face. _

_ Etsuko narrowed her eyes. "…You could have saved him," she spoke in a tone only slightly louder than a whisper. "You could have stopped Mion."_

_ Ryota hesitated. "No I couldn't have! Mion went berserk! No one could have stopped her! She seems to have gone back to normal, now! I went up to her and she didn't remember me! Funny, huh?" he said, hopping off the stool. He took a few steps back, knowing something was funny with Etsuko._

_ Etsuko slowly pulled herself out of bed, touching the cold floor of the hospital with her bare feet. She shivered slightly at the feel, but didn't allow that to distract her. Slowly, she reached for a heavy object. The first thing she grasped on to was a giant, heavy book, probably a dictionary of some sort. "You! You could have saved him!" she snapped at him. "You call yourself a strong person, huh? You're really just a weakling! You ran away in fear! What do you have to say about that, Ryuga Ryota?" _

_ Ryota took more steps back, glancing at the doorway. "Yeah, I-I'm sorry. I'm really not that strong," he replied. "I-I… I-I just w-wanted to seem cool and all that. I'm… sorry."_

_ Etsuko's rage didn't burn out, however. If anything, it added more wood. She held the book high up in the air, positioning it above Ryota's head. "Die, you idiot!" she yelled out. Then, she brought the heavy book down on Ryota's head with all her might. Instantly, Ryota tumbled back and fainted from the impact of such a heavy object hitting his head. Etsuko gasped when she realized what she had done._

_ "Did I kill him?" she whispered, inspecting Ryota's unmoving body. Slowly, she grabbed onto his ankles and pulled him out of the hospital room, setting him down on the floor of the hallway. It would be hard to explain why there was a passed out boy on the floor of her room. So, instead, she figured this would be better. She turned back around and walked into her room before collapsing on her bed. She closed her eyes, feeling tired from using up all her strength to hit Ryota on the head. She snuggled into her fluffy blankets, admiring their soft fabric, and shut her eyes tightly before drifting off into a deep sleep._

_ It wasn't long before she was awoken, however. Doctors were running about the building frantically and their loud talking and footsteps had disturbed her sleep. She opened her eyes and looked into the hallway where two doctors were talking._

_ "That boy, is he going to be alright?" one of the doctors spoke._

_ "Yeah, he should be okay. He might have suffered some serious damage, though," the other doctor responded._

_ Etsuko was curious. She stepped out of her bed and began to wander out of her room, wondering what the doctors could be talking about. They seemed to have found Ryota. She stopped in front of the two doctors, both of them standing outside a room full of several other doctors. She looked at them with confusion, her head tilted to the side. Perhaps Ryota was in there._

_ "Hey, you!" one of the doctors called to Etsuko. "Do you know that kid?"_

_ Etsuko pretended to be innocent. "What kid?"_

_The doctor pointed to the room. "The boy in there. You can take a look, if you want." _

_ Etsuko nodded and wandered into the room next to hers. Ryota was lying on his bed, several frantic doctors surrounding him. They all turned to look at her when she entered the room, curious as to why a little girl was there. Etsuko ignored the, however, and continued to gaze upon the passed out Ryota. How badly was he damaged? Was that book really that heavy? He looked completely pale, and Etsuko would have thought he was dead if she didn't know any better. _

_ "What happened?" she asked. "Is he okay?"_

_ The doctor sighed. "We don't know. We think something heavy hit him in the head, though. He'll live, but it seems that the blow did some serious damage to his head." Then, the doctor paused, looking at her. "Do you know him?"_

_ Etsuko thought for a little bit. She was about to deny, but then an idea came to her head. Ryota needed to be punished even more for his deeds. "Oh yes, I know him very well," she answered. "He's my younger brother… his name is," Etsuko tried not to hesitate for too long. It wouldn't seem natural if she did. "…Hisao."_

_ The doctors nodded. "Okay. We're sorry about this, and we'll try to see if we can fix him up."_

_ Etsuko nodded, giving Ryota one last glance before she walked out the door, secretly wishing that Ryota had really died._

~~~~X~~~~

"It won't be much longer," Etsuko whispered, gazing into the night sky. "Don't worry, my Hajime, it won't be much longer."

Meanwhile, Sonozaki Mion was busy dashing through the trees. She was heading towards the area in which she had killed Hajime. For some reason, she felt as if Etsuko would be there. "It won't be much longer," Mion spoke as she dashed through the woods. "Don't worry, Kei-chan, I'll be yours soon."

Etsuko looked into the bushes. "She'll be here soon."

Mion jumped over a few tree roots, continuing her pursuit. "I'll find her soon."

Etsuko noticed a bit of trembling coming from the bushes nearby and began to feel a little bit of déjà vu. "I'm sure I'll get her this time."

Mion thought about how she had failed to kill Etsuko on that night as she crawled through the thick bushes, regretting her actions. She had believed that she had died when she fainted. "I'll get her for sure this time!"

Etsuko's eyes narrowed as she focused on the bushes.

Mion pushed her way through the sharp branches, careful not to cut herself on them.

"And at that point, I'll get my revenge once and for all."

~~~~X~~~~

**Crimso's Corner**

**Phew! I decided to cut off the chapter there, I'm sorry. It's because there has already been enough drama in this chapter and I haven't updated in a while and was feeling bad. If I added in that last part, I'd surely take several more days. Tomorrow, my play starts. Today was our last rehearsal. After Saturday, there will be no more play and I'll be free to write. I hope I don't mess up on stage. I'm pretty sure I can finish this up before the deadline. After all, it's not much longer. We'll get to see Etsuko and Mion confront each other in the next chapter, by the way. Look forward to that. It'll be pretty epic. It'll be pretty short, but pretty epic.**

**I can't write much here, sadly. I need to go work on a book recommendation for a book I haven't even read. Yeah, I know. I have a Spanish Project I need to finish, too. Oh! And some Math homework I don't understand. I'll just say this: Please review this chapter. If you review this chapter, you'll get a fake demonic sword. It looks real, but it's fake and does NOT contain demon spirits! Or does it?**

**Forgive me if this chapter was confusing. Oh yeah, and about the demon spirits talking. It wasn't mentioned in Ayame's tale, I know, but that's because Ayame's tale does not include every single detail. Hanyuu and the Green-Eyed Demon were telling it from memory. They got the main plot right, but it's not like they included everything. Ayame's tale was supposed to be as if Hanyuu and the Green-Eyed Demon were narrating it in a way. Also, forgive me for the amount of flashbacks. There'll probably be more next chapter, too. And forgive me for making Hisao's surname (his real one) so similar to Rena's. Ryuga Ryota just sounded cool to me, okay? I mean, try saying it out loud. It's fun to say. Sonozaki is also fun to say.**

**~Crimso**


	29. Chapter 28: Confrontation

**Today has not been my day. I've been saying that a lot, huh? Well I got extremely sick in science class and ended up staying in the nurse's office for four hours. Four hours. On another note, my play went great! I managed to go even though I felt like crap. It would be awful if I missed it. Yeah, I managed to skip Spanish again. On Wednesday I didn't finish my project so I hid in my house until Spanish was over and then went to school. Stupid of me, I know, but it's better than getting in trouble. Plus I got to sleep in.**

**CHAPTER 28**

**WARNING: Violence and gore ahead! And I really mean it this time. **

~~~~X~~~~

Mion pushed her way through the branches of the bushes, determined to reach Etsuko before the day was over. She had to finish her off before everyone came outside and began to walk home. She needed to finish her up quickly. And yet, a part of her told her that killing Etsuko wouldn't be so easy. She was a demon, but that didn't mean that demons had trouble killing their prey sometimes. She was quite annoyed by the idea, as she wanted to get it over with quick and then move onto her life with Keiichi. Joy danced in her stomach as she thought of Keiichi, emitting a warm, fuzzy feeling throughout her body that made her feel very happy.

But she couldn't think about that right now. For now, she needed to focus on the task at hand. She couldn't hunt her prey if she wasn't concentrating on the kill. Pushing the thoughts of Keiichi out of her head, Mion continued to crawl through the thick bushes. She could not allow herself to be seen. She didn't know why, but her instincts had told her to come here. Something in her mind told her that Etsuko was waiting for her in the very spot she had almost defeated her before. She mentally cursed herself for not killing Etsuko before. She hadn't had any idea that the girl hadn't died when she had passed out after she beat Aoi. Now, she had to pay the price.

Mion's sharp gaze spotted Etsuko through the bushes. She kept her body down low and crouched, just like a predator before it pounced on its prey. Her eyes narrowed as she focused on her, deciding how she would attack first. She didn't have any claws like last time, so tearing her up was out. Slowly, she slid the cursed katana from her back and grasped onto its hilt, careful not to make very much noise or cause a ruckus. She couldn't be seen. She had to be camouflaged. She needed to find the perfect time to attack.

Etsuko was staring into the bushes, her eyes also narrowed. Did she see her? Grumbling slightly, Mion positioned her demonic katana so that she could swipe at the pink-haired girl the moment she popped out. Taking a deep breath, Mion ran out of the bushes, her hands grasped onto the katana. Etsuko wasn't surprised in the slightest. Mion let out a battle cry as she slashed the katana at the girl. Unfortunately, Etsuko had already suspected she would do for. She ducked out of the way of the blade, managing to miss it completely. The blade of the katana cut through the air above the girl. Mion clicked her tongue in annoyance as she pulled her katana back to her side.

Etsuko smirked and stood up, brushing her clothes off. "It's nice to see you again, Sonozaki Mion. Have you remembered your sins?" she asked her.

Mion narrowed her eyes. "My only sin is not killing you."

Etsuko laughed mockingly. "Oh, is that so? Well, I just got lucky, I guess. I'm kind of sad that you went for Hajime instead of me. You should have killed me, not him. Perhaps everything would be better, hm?" she spoke. "After all, aren't I the person who is causing you pain?"

Mion opened her mouth slightly, showing off dull white teeth. "Do not mock me. I already know where I screwed up. I'm here to fix that," she spoke, positioning her katana once again for another strike. She aimed it carefully, eyeing the pink-haired girl in front of her. "You will die, for Kei-chan's sake."

"Is that so? Well, let's see what you're made of then, Sonozaki Mion!" she laughed. Etsuko drew a large knife from up her sleeve and pointed it towards Mion threateningly. The blade of the knife shown in the moonlight, reflecting its silver rays as she held it out for Mion to see. She certainly did not come here unprepared. She had been waiting for this very day for years and years. Now, she'd finally get to see her revenge.

Etsuko made the first move, running forward to slash the other female's stomach. Mion was not a fool. She saw the move coming from a mile away. She quickly dodged, tumbling away from the knife while still holding the sharp katana in her arms. She jumped back up on two feet and lunged towards Etsuko with the cursed blade. Etsuko made a move to dodge, though it was a little delayed and the blade ended up slashing her stomach ever so slightly. Grumbling, Etsuko moved her hand down to her cut stomach to feel the blood seeping out of the small wound. It didn't hurt that much, really. She quickly regained her composure and made the move to slash Mion with her knife, this time determined to cause her some pain. The blade skimmed Mion's arm just before she jumped out of the way with undeniable skill, though she hardly felt it. An injury such as that was so small to a demon like her. She smirked at the human in front of her, knowing that she was a little frustrated at the fact that she couldn't inflict that much pain on her with a weapon so much smaller than her opponents. Etsuko clicked her tongue in annoyance as she made a move to stab rather than slash. Mion smirked as she ducked out of the way, and the knife plunged into the bark of a nearby tree. Scratch marks were still visible on that tree from the incident a few years ago, resembling the markings of a wild animal.

"You're good," spoke Etsuko in between her heavy breathing, "but that doesn't mean that I don't have the power to take you down. I came here prepared."

Mion smirked, positioning her katana so that the moon was reflected in it. "Do you really think you can kill a demon?" she questioned. "I doubt there have been many humans that have succeeded in killing a demon. Sonozaki Ayame was a demon herself. In fact, I doubt that there are any humans that have succeeded in killing a demon!"

"Well then," Etsuko responded, "I'll just have to be the first."

Then, they ceased conversation and clashed once again. Steel of knife met steel of sword, creating clanging sounds as they bashed together. Etsuko had great strength. She pushed her knife against the blade of Mion's katana, as if trying to cut right through it. Mion knew that she had the advantage in this duel in terms of strength and weapon. There was no way a single knife could overthrow a weapon like a katana. Mion smiled as drops of sweat began to trickle down Etsuko's forehead. She was clearly having a hard time keeping up with her opponent. Etsuko drew the knife away, ducking down quickly before the blade of the katana could cut straight through her. Mion quickly saw an opportunity in front of her and swiped her katana down as fast as she could. The blade of the cursed katana cut through Etsuko's shoulder like butter, causing blood to seep out of the deep wound. Etsuko cried out in pain, struggling to get the blade out of her. Mion drew the sword stained with crimson back, admiring it.

"You know, they say this katana contains the spirits of a thousand demons," she spoke, staring at her reflection through the red mess that stained the silver blade. "If you've read the tale of Sonozaki Ayame, you should know about this sword."

Etsuko frowned, still clinging on to her bleeding shoulder. "I've read the tale of Sonozaki Ayame all right, and I sure know that sword. Didn't Ayame use this to murder Tatsuya and Hana?" she said.

Mion nodded. "Yes, that is correct. I'm surprised you've heard of the tale before. I've heard from… reliable sources… that not many people in Hinamizawa remember that tale," she spoke as she admired the katana in her hand. She felt so powerful to be holding a sword said to contain demonic spirits. "You know, this sword really does contain the spirits of a thousand demons. They talk to me. They call me their demon queen," she spoke, holding the katana close to her.

Voices only Mion could hear came out from the katana's blade, murmuring words to her. "Kill her. She doesn't desire to live! She has hurt our queen, so she must die!" the voices whispered. She smiled at their words. She was their demon queen. It sounded so wonderful to hear them call her such a horrifying title. "Hail Sonozaki Mion! Hail the Green-Eyed Demon! Hail the Demon Queen! Destroy all that gets in her path!" cried the spirits.

Etsuko looked at Mion as if she was insane. "I don't hear a word," she scoffed.

"That's because you aren't a demon," she spoke, admiring the sword she held in front of her. "They're saying that they're loyal to me, you see? They say that they'll crush anyone who gets in my path." Mion slowly averted her eyes from the sword to gaze in the purple eyes of Etsuko. "And right now, that person is you."

Etsuko didn't look amused in the slightest. "Oh yeah, demons talking to you. As if!" she sneered, "such a thing like demons being trapped in swords is surely just a legend!"

Mion frowned. "Are you trying to say that demons aren't real?" she questioned her. "After all, you're looking at one right now."

Etsuko shook her head. "I'm not saying that. I know you're a demon," she spoke, her hand still positioned on her crimson-stained shoulder. Then, her face curved into an evil smirk as an idea came to her head. "…Why are you so proud of such a thing?" she asked her. "You shouldn't be proud of being a monster. Besides, wouldn't Keiichi-kun hate you for such a thing?"

Mion's whole body went stiff. She had never considered such a thing. Would Keiichi really hate her for not being human? "That's ridiculous!" cried out Mion, though unsure if her own words were true, "Kei-chan would never hate me for something like that! Kei-chan is an accepting person. He'd love me no matter what! Kei-chan would be able to accept the fact that I'm not human and then move on, because that's just the person Kei-chan is!"

Etsuko laughed madly at her words. "Oh, really? I'm not so sure about that. After all, that form of yours isn't your true one, now is it? You are much uglier than you look. Surely Keiichi-kun would be horrified if he saw what you truly look like under that human disguise you wear to mask your true self. You're a demon, a savage monster who cares about nothing but killing. And no one loves a demon," she said, a smirk still painted across her face.

Mion felt rage burn fiercely inside her body. And at that moment, something in her mind snapped. The grip on the cursed sword tightened as violent thoughts killed her mind. As she looked at that smirk of the girl who stood in front of her, anger only built up more. "That's not true!" she screamed out. Without thinking, Mion held her katana up and slashed down on the girl. She let out a wail as the sharp blade dug into her flesh. But Mion's wrath didn't end there. She tore the katana away from her flesh and began to cut into a different spot. The sharp blade once again found itself lodged in her shoulder with Mion pulling down on the hilt as she aimed to completely cut the girl's arm off. Etsuko grasped onto her knife and plunged it into the demon's leg, desperate to cause some kind of pain to her. Mion let out a slight cry of pain though she did no more than that. She had to focus on killing this girl. She couldn't let such simple injuries get to her at a time like this. The katana finally sliced all the way through the flesh of Etsuko's shoulder and her arm fell clean off onto the grass, staining the ground a deep crimson. Mion quickly pulled the knife lodged into her leg out and wedged it into the girl's flesh with insanity visible in her green eyes.

Etsuko could feel her whole body shiver with the pain of being tortured, though she knew that she couldn't give up despite the dire situation. "Heh, you seem to be intolerant of the idea that Keiichi doesn't like you back," she commented through her desperate breaths.

Mion ignored her comment, however, and continued to butcher her with the knife and the katana she held. "He won't ever love you!" she shouted as she drew the knife out and stabbed it in again. "He won't ever love a bitch like you!"

Etsuko's response startled Mion. She began to laugh despite her great pain, almost as if she didn't feel any at all. "Keiichi? Love me? Ahahahahaha! As if! I don't care if that bastard loves me or hates me! I don't fucking care about him! I've never cared about him! All I care about is my Hajime!" she cried out. "It was all just a trap, and you fell for it! This whole time I've just been trying to provoke you so that your memories would return and I could avenge Hajime! You're so damn gullible when it comes to Keiichi! AHAHAHAHA!" she laughed.

Mion's eyes widened at such a revelation. "What?" she spoke in disbelief. "What are you trying to say?"

Etsuko's laughter died down. "Listen, you. I've never loved Keiichi or any of that crap. I don't give a damn about that idiot. He could go die in a hole for all I care. I just want to avenge my Hajime. And in order to do that fully, I needed you to remember your sins. I read the tale of Sonozaki Ayame and the Sonozaki Family book in the Saiguden to learn a little more about your family. So I figured that turning you back into your true form would make you remember as that was what you were turning into when you killed Hajime. It said that I needed to provoke you in order to turn you into your true form. Your crush on Keiichi was so obvious I decided to use that to manipulate your thoughts. I made up all that crap about me being in love with Keiichi! I JUST WANT MY HAJIME!" she cried out. For a moment, Mion could have sworn she saw a small tear trickle down the girl's face.

Mion could not stand the idea that she had been manipulated this whole time. A new anger grew inside her as she heard the pink-haired girl's explanation. She clutched the hilt of her katana tightly as she tried to resist the urge to strangle the girl right on the spot. Then, she realized, what was the point of resisting? Didn't she come here to kill Etsuko in the first place? An evil grin grew on Mion's face as she realized exactly what she needed to do now. With a great swing of her katana, Mion cut off the other arm belonging to Etsuko. Blood gushed out of the wound like a waterfall, creating a pool of crimson on the grass. She laughed manically as she took Etsuko's knife and began to slash at her stomach, a method similar to how she killed Hajime years before. She finally dug the knife into the torn flesh on her already scarred stomach, grinning at the sight of so much blood.

Etsuko was having quite a bit of trouble breathing. Her breaths were shaky and unsteady, her whole body trembling a bit with pain. Mion smiled at the sight of her suffering. "It looks like I win this one, Etsuko," she spoke.

"No, I win, Sonozaki Mion!" cried Etsuko. And then, a laugh came out of her mouth. It was a laugh full with her emotions. Madness from her scheme, anger at Mion, sorrow at Hajime's death, and finally, the pain she was in. She choked a little and then ceased to laugh. Her whole body twitched and then lay still.

Mion looked down on it, kicking the body with her foot. When she received no response, a maddened grin spread across her face. "I killed her," she spoke in a voice just barely louder than a whisper. "I killed her!" she said again, this time much louder. The whole idea seemed a little strange to her at first. She, Sonozaki Mion, had killed someone. But she soon got over that idea. "I DID IT! I REALLY DID IT!" she screamed out to the empty night. Laughter filled with inhuman madness echoed through the night. She was half way done with her plan. Then her head fell over, all worn out from laughing so hard. She sat herself down in front of the body and poked it once. She grinned once again when no movement occurred. She then ripped the knife out of her stomach and slashed it across the girl's stomach, cutting it open completely. She stared into the open belly of her enemy, smiling at what she saw. Then, she used the knife to cut open the fabric of her clothing and ripped the skin underneath. With one hand, Mion reached into the girl's body and gripped her heart, now not beating and unable to love. She ripped it out and observed it.

"You loved Hajime," she spoke, stroking the heart with her finger. "But now that you're dead, you deserve to have your heart broken… literally!"

Mion crushed the heart with her hand, laughing at the feel of blood pouring out onto her fingers. She threw away the punctured organ and let it fall splat against a nearby tree. She ran to the stream and dipped her hands in, allowing the crimson to run off her hands and stain the blue water. Once her hands were free of blood, she took them out and looked at them to make sure that there was indeed no red on them. Confirming that they were indeed clean, she kicked off her sandals covered with blood before she whipped around and skipped away from the scene of the crime, humming to herself.

Etsuko was dead. Now, she just needed to kill that Rena.

Mion walked down the dusty paths of Hinamizawa, each and every one of them empty. She could hear cries from drunken townspeople and cheers from excited villagers. Tonight was a night to celebrate Oyashiro-sama. For Mion, tonight was the night to celebrate the death of an enemy. She hummed a small tune to herself. It was a rather happy one, contrasting the girl's appearance. Her kimono as stained with specks of blood and her feet sticky with blood and the dirt that clung to it. A grin was set upon her face. It was not a grin of happiness. Instead, it was a grin of pure insanity. No one was there to see her, thankfully. If they were, they would have surely run off in fear of the crazed girl.

"Don't worry, my precious Kei-chan. It won't be long until you finally realize that I'm the one perfect for you. Rena will be gone soon," she spoke to the boy who was not present. The only creatures there to listen to her were the demons sealed inside the sword in her sheath strapped to her back. "I love you so much, my Kei-chan. I love you more than the whole world itself. So tell me, why won't you love me back? Why do you choose Rena over me? Can't you see that I'm better for you?"

She sighed. "Well, it doesn't really matter, I suppose. He'll realize after that last pest is gone," she murmured to herself. She gazed up at the moon as she walked along the paths, admiring how beautiful it was. It was a night perfect for celebrating the Watanagashi festival. Surely the villagers were off enjoying themselves back at the Furude Shrine, oblivious to the horrible murder that had just taken place. There was no need for Mion to worry. She had all the time in the world tonight.

Unfortunately for her, Mion was also oblivious to what was going on back at the Furude Shrine.

"Ah! Mion-chan!" a voice came out from nearby. "Is that you?"

Mion whipped around in pure alarm. An old man was wandering down the path right next to her. Her eyes widened with fear. "Ah, Kimiyoshi! It's… uh… good to see you!" she spoke, trying to wipe away the look of surprise that spread across her face.

Kiichirou laughed heartily. "It's good to see you too, Mion-chan. That is you, isn't it? You certainly sound like Mion-chan," he said, narrowing his eyes so he could get a better look at the girl standing next to him. With a sigh, his eyes returned to normal. "Ah, my eye sight hasn't been very good recently, you see. My hearing hasn't been to great, either. I can tell it's you by the hair, though! Unless you happen to be Shion-chan," he spoke, laughing a little it at himself.

Mion laughed along with him, though her laugh was quite fake. "Oh yeah! I'm Mion, all right. It's a shame that you are losing your eyesight. How much longer are you expecting to live?" she asked, thinking of random things to talk about. Perhaps she could distract him from her bloodstained appearance, considering the fact that he could barely see.

Kiichirou smiled. "Ah, it's good to see you in such a lovely kimono. I didn't know you had a red and white one," he spoke, observing her clothing. Mion was quite dumbstruck by his words. Did he really think that the crimson in her fabric was just the color? Mion looked down at her kimono. It certainly looked like blood to her. "My, my. Mion-chan, you're really beautiful, you know that? I'm sure you could get any man you wanted to with those looks!" he spoke. "I fear that I will not get to see you when you're all grown up. I'm sure you'll be an elegant woman. I must congratulate your future husband early! Ohoho!" he added on, laughing.

Mion twitched slightly. No, she couldn't get any boy she wanted. If that were true, then why didn't Keiichi like her back? She rolled her eyes, hoping that the old man in front of her wasn't able to pick up that small gesture. "Do you really think that?" she murmured.

Kiichirou nodded, smiling. "Of course! With your looks, there's no competition! I'm sure a boy your age would snatch you up without thinking. Besides, you're a lovely young lady. You'll certainly be able to get any man! Any man at all!" he spoke.

Mion was irritated. The whole time, she thought about Keiichi. His words were completely untrue. If she were really that beautiful, Keiichi would have fallen in love with her rather than Rena. Mion found it very hard to hold back her emotions and clenched her fists in annoyance. "…Anyways," she spoke, trying to change the topic, "Why are you out here? Aren't you guys still out partying?"

Much to Mion's surprise, the old man shook his head. "Nope. We decided to end a little earlier today. Your friends left shortly after we did. They were all hanging around the river talking about how they had developed as a team and all that stuff. You should have been there. You would have loved it!" he spoke. "And besides, they were talking about you quite a bit. That Maebara boy couldn't keep quiet about you!"

_Kill him! _A voice in Mion's head whispered to her. _Kill him! This is his way of mocking you. He's lying about what he's been seeing! _"Is that really so?" she spoke, fidgeting a little bit.

She was finding it hard to control the urge to kill that was devouring what was left of her sanity.

"Oh yeah! I bet you two would make the perfect couple. I'm sure with your looks, you could snatch him up in three seconds!" laughed Kiichirou. However, Mion was no longer listening. Her right hand was placed on the sword attached to her back and she was currently trying to resist her demonic thoughts to remove it and slash him to bits. Kiichirou saw this and narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out what it was that was attached to Mion's back. He hadn't seemed to notice it previously. "Oh, Mion-chan, what's that attached to your back?" he asked, stepping a little closer to get a better look at it. "Is that… a… katana?" he realized. His eyes suddenly grew wide as he looked down at the red spots on Mion's kimono, realizing the true identity of the substance. Slowly, he looked into her eyes, shocked at the fierceness it contained.

Without thinking, Mion drew the bloodstained katana from her sheath. "DON'T TELL HIM!" she screamed out as she held the cursed katana high in the air. Kiichirou looked up at the sword in shock and he was unable to move or say anything. With one ferocious strike, Mion brought the katana down on his head and sliced him. His body fell to the ground with a hollow thud. Mion took a few steps back, pulling the katana back into her sheath. She was panting and her thoughts weren't very clear, not even to herself.

Then, the reality of what she had just done hit her. And it hit her hard. She took a few steps back, looking down on the dead body of the old man she had known for such a long time. He had been so kind to her all her life. When she was just a little girl, he had loved her because she was so mischievous. He had always treated her so well, so why did she kill him? "Why…" she whispered to herself as she fell back on her butt. "Why did I just do that?" she wondered out loud, scooting herself backwards until her back rammed up against a tree. The higurashi cicada, which clung to it, flew away as fast as its wings could manage, as if it had sensed that the girl below her was no good. "WHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHYYYYYYY?" she screamed out, clutching her head. Her eyes were wide with pure fear of herself and her breaths were labored.

Unfortunately for her, her screams were loud enough to attract the attention of a nearby boy who happened to be walking down the path a little ways down. He stopped for a few seconds and glanced down the road, catching sight of the girl sitting against a tree with a look of horror in her eyes. His blue eyes widened and he found himself running at a speed faster than he even knew he could run. He didn't even stop when his legs felt like they were about to give out from running so quickly. He halted instantly when he came to the girl, dust flying up from stopping so fast.

"Mion!" he called to her. "What are you…?"  
Mion felt her heart freeze. "Kei…chan…" she spoke, instantly recognizing the brown-haired boy in front of her. Her eyes trailed down to the bloody corpse and then to her own body.

"What happened here!" he asked, his voice full with shock and not anger. "How in the world did this happen?"

Mion shook her head, unable to come up with any good excuse. "It wasn't me," she spoke. "IT WASN'T MEEEEEE!" she repeated again, trying to back away from him though blocked by the tree behind her. She felt a burning sensation run throughout her and she sensed pain coming from every part of her body.

Keiichi didn't know what to make of the whole scene in front of her. All the blood on her body clearly pointed to the conclusion that Mion did indeed kill Kiichirou, but Keiichi knew better than to doubt his friends. He couldn't think about such a thing when his friend was in clear pain. Right now, he needed to help her more than anything else. He rushed over to her side, placing his hands on his shoulders. He couldn't stand the sight of his love in so much pain. "What's wrong, Mion?" he demanded. "Please tell me what's wrong!"

"I DIDN'T KILL HIM!" screeched Mion. "I SWEAR I DIDN'T DO IT!"

"I believe you, Mion!" he replied, looking into her eyes. "Just please tell me what's wrong! I'll help you no matter what! I'll help you!" he pleaded, trying to pull her towards his gaze.

Mion instinctively knew what was happening to her as she was hit with a surge of pain. Her eyes grew wider, if that was even possible, and she stared at Keiichi. She couldn't allow him to be here. "Leave," she ordered him. "Please… leave…"

A look of confusion dressed Keiichi's face. "Wait, what do you mean? I won't leave! I need to help you! I'll stay here with you forever if I need to because I lov-"

"LEAVE!" cried Mion as she clutched her head out of pure pain. She screamed out as her whole body began to shake violently like never before. Keiichi had never seen her like this before. His worry for her wellbeing began to escalate as he felt his whole body shake just from touching her.

"Why?" cried Keiichi. "Won't you just please tell me what's wrong? I'll help you in any way I can!"

Mion shook her head. "JUST GO AWAY! YOU'LL HATE ME IF YOU STAY HERE ANY LONGER! I DON'T WANT YOU TO SEE, SO PLEASE LEAVE!" she screamed out. Then, she emitted a wordless scream as she felt her body shake harder and harder with every growing second. "I BEG OF YOU KEI-CHAN, LEAVE!" Now, the green-haired girl was crying with the pain her body was in and the frustration of Keiichi refusing her orders. "PLEASE!" she begged once again.

Keiichi reluctantly complied. He released his hand from her shoulder and looked at her with pure worry. Then, with tears in his own eyes, he dashed off, not knowing why Mion didn't want him to see her. But now, as a friend, all he could possibly do was listen if that was what she wished. He felt mad at himself for not being able to do anymore, but on the inside, he knew that it was probably for the best. Screams could be heard from down the road and Keiichi wondered to himself if he had really done what was best for her.

Back at the tree, Mion felt her whole body collapse. She was no longer able to keep herself upwards. _Stop! _Mion ordered her body. _Stop! Right now, stop!_

However, she was in no control of herself. She could feel her body begin its horrid transformation. At the end of her fingers, her fingernails twisted into sharp, demonic claws. She could feel her two canines elongate and sharpen until they were sharper than the blade of a knife. Not only that, but her body began to make several other transformations and adjustments as she began to change into her true form, the form she kept hidden from the world and herself. She didn't want to see it. In pure frustration, Mion buried her new claws in the ground as she tried to force her body to stop.

"STOP IT!" she cried out. "STOP THIS! I DON'T WANT TO BE A DEMON!" she shrieked out. Yet, her body wouldn't listen to her. Her sanity had dropped to much for her to remain in her human form any longer. Mion pushed all her strength into stopping the hideous transformation, trying to prevent herself from becoming what it truly was. "STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!"

Finally, her body complied and the transformation was halted. The pain stopped and she could feel pure demonic strength in place. The demon grasped onto the tree trunk and pulled herself upwards, finding it hard to stand on her two shaky legs. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced to the claws that were attached to her fingers. "I can't be seen like this," she realized. She looked around the path and spotted some more people coming down the road. Alarmed, she jumped into the trees and ran as fast as she could away from the people. She didn't quite know what she was doing, but Mion found herself running through the forest without any aim. She just needed to be away from humans. Coming to a turning point, she stopped and tried to figure out which path she should go down.

Mion decided to take the one on the right. She ran down the path with inhuman speed and went straight past the Saiguden. Rika was sitting there, talking to what appeared to be no one. She didn't notice as Mion fled from her view and scampered up the mountain. She no longer knew if she was running from the humans, or herself.

The pathway was familiar. This was the route they took to get up to the camping grounds. Surely no one would be up there. Mion decided that that was the best place to go and continued her ascend up the mountains. For some reason, she found that running up such a steep mountain wasn't the least bit tiring. Mion shook that thought out of her head as she decided that she should simply focus on getting to the campgrounds.

Mion dashed through the trees and soon noticed that she had arrived. She was panting as she glanced about the empty area. "No! It's too open!" she spoke. "I've got to find another spot!"

Mion ran across the giant opening and back into the trees. It wasn't long before her ears picked up the sound of trickling water. She forced her body to stop running as she glanced over to the source of the noise. Curiously, she followed the noise and found herself at the very familiar river. It wasn't very deep, but she didn't care. She was rather thirsty from running so much. Bending over, Mion brought her lips to the stream and began to drink greedily. Once she pulled away, she wiped off the water and let out a deep sigh.

That's when she caught the sight of her reflection in the rushing stream. Mion let out a scream as she noticed her face reflected in the stream and took a few steps backwards. She didn't even want to see herself. After taking a few breaths, Mion stepped forward again to look at herself. She needed to face her fears.

She didn't look too bad. She still looked human mostly. The only thing that was really different about her was the claws and the fangs along with a pair of shiny white horns protruding from the top of her head. They curved backwards and grew out over her head, curving away from each other ever so slightly. She ran her fingers along one of them curiously. She didn't remember having them when she had attacked Hajime seven years ago. Not only that, but she didn't recall ever hearing about Madoka or Sayuri having horns. All the same, she was still scared of her appearance. She whipped herself around and retreated into the trees.

She didn't even think as she pushed herself through the thick forest. She just needed to find some place for her to stay, some place where she could forget about herself. That was all that mattered to her. Branches snapped as she pushed them away with her arms. She left a bunch of bloody footprints behind her, still having blood on her feet from Kiichirou's murder.

Finally, she stopped. There, in front of her, was a giant cave embedded in a cliff. With a deep breath, she allowed herself to be swallowed up by the darkness inside. She couldn't hear the sound of any life inside. All she could hear was her breathing and the sound of her feet hitting the rock below her. With a small sigh, she allowed herself to fall to the ground.

"What have I become?" she asked herself. She wrapped her hands around her legs, burring her head into them. "I'm a demon! I'm…!"

_ "Surely Keiichi-kun would be horrified if he saw what you truly look like under that human disguise you wear to mask your true self. You're a demon, a savage monster who cares about nothing but killing. And no one loves a demon."_

Etsuko's words echoed in her mind. At that time, she had denied them. But now that she thought about it, were they really true? She didn't know anymore. She allowed her body to fall against the rock and she curled up into a tight ball. "If Kei-chan saw me like this, would he think of me as a monster? Would he refuse to be around someone like me?" she wondered out loud.

"No… Kei-chan, you wouldn't think such a thing," she decided, shutting her eyes. It was late and she needed to rest. Today had been a long day for her. There was no way she could stay awake for any longer. After all, she had just killed two people. "…Would you?"

With that final thought, sleep claimed her.

~~~~X~~~~

**Crimso's Corner.**

**Oh wow. This is such a short chapter for a chapter where so much happens. I mean, two people died and Mion transformed partially. And it's only 7,000 words! What's up with that? I wish I could have made it longer, but I guess I can't. I went straight to the point here. I feel really bad for writing a chapter this small. I mean, that whole fight scene I planed to be much longer. But when I wrote it out, it turned out like... that. Etsuko is dead, Kimiyoshi is dead, and Mion looks all creepy. Yup. I'm sure you're all glad I killed Etsuko off. I'm glad, too. I was tired of her. Hey, even writers get bored of their characters! I wrote this fanfic mostly for the real Higurashi characters though Hisao is still extremely important. So yeah. Are you guys all happy that she's dead? We can toss what remains of her body in the lake, if you want. Or we can feed it to my pet dragon. His name is Riley. He eats people I don't like.**

**Oh yeah, if you're wondering why Mion has horns, I have an answer! Remember what Sayuri said about them becoming closer to their true forms as they get more insane? Well, Mion's really insane at this point, so she has horns. Actually, because she does and Madoka doesn't, that means she's more insane than Madoka at this point. Isn't that cool and freaky at the same time?**

**So yeah. My final performance is today. My voice is all screwed up because I have a cold so yesterday didn't go over so well D:. Yeah, it sucks. Thursday's performance was AWESOME though! At my school, there's a saying that the second night is always the worst. Now, I can confirm to you that that is indeed true. My friends warned me.**

**In any case, I got to go get ready for performance soon. Please leave a review. Reviewers get to have a plushie Mion. It's very huggable. I mean, who wouldn't want to hug Mion? I love reviews. So thank you to all who reviewed! Crimso loves you ALL!**

**And with that… goodbye all!**

**~Crimso**


	30. Chapter 29: Pursuit

**Hello boys and girls of all ages! I present to you, the amazing CRIMSOOOOOO. Yeah. How are all my friends today? I'm here at the graveyard having a picnic on top of Etsuko's grave with The Minister. Aren't we, Minister? *****Staaaaaaaaares*. Wow, these cookies are really good. I wish I had some bacon. You can join us if you want. I might put on some disco music and we can have a dance party.**

**Ahem. Well, I plan to write as much as I can today. I'm running on time. I can feel the horror of not finishing this fanfic in time for camp. I wish I started earlier. I was just scared of uploading this at first. I'm just glad it turned out well.**

**29**

~~~~X~~~~

Festivities were over. Every villager in Hinamizawa talked and chattered to each other about how this year's festival went and how much they enjoyed it. They laughed at each other without a single worry and wandered off into the night. Furude Rika, sitting in front of the Shrine with her friends, watches the whole commotion with a grim expression. Not one person spoke of Oyashiro-sama or the curse that used to loom over the village like a veil. For this reason, she felt a little sad. How could the villagers forget about their deity? Poor Hanyuu sat behind her, her head hung down. Her people, and probably also her friends had forgotten about her. When was the last time that the subject of Hanyuu was brought up amongst the club members? Rika really couldn't remember.

"Ah, what a wonderful festival that was!" commented a middle-aged man as he walked down the steps from the Furude Shrine. "That was the most wonderful one I have ever been to!"

The man who walked next to him laughed. "I know, right? I haven't partied like that in ages! Ohoho!"

The two men broke out into fits of laughter. "Oh, but Kazuhiro, your father seems to have disappeared. I last saw him when he went out to go for a stroll a little while after the Watanagashi ended," one of the men pointed out. "I wonder where he went off to? I do believe that he did say he was going to come back in a little while though he never did."

The man called Kimiyoshi Kazuhiro nodded. "Oh, you know my father. He's growing really old and soon, he might just collapse all together. Recently, he's been having some problems with his eyesight and hearing. He might be having trouble seeing in this dim light," he spoke, nearly tripping down one of the steps as he talked. Then, he laughed off his little mistake and commented, "Man, I guess I need to look out in the dark as well! Ohoho!"

The other man laughed as well. "Oh, Kazuhiro. You really remind me of Kimiyoshi Kiichirou-sama in many ways. I wonder if you'll grow up to be such a good head like him? Though it is a shame to hear that he's been in bad condition. I do hope he lives to see the next spring."

Kazuhiro frowned a little bit. "Well, yes, I hope so too, but I do not think he is going to make it. He always talks to me about how he has been feeling a little bit…. well, weak recently. He keeps reminding me that I will probably become the next head any time soon," he responded, gazing into the moon. "It'll be a tough job, but I hope I can handle it."

"Oh come on Kazuhiro, bud, you'll do perfectly fine!" he laughed. "You've always come off to me as a good leader. And we've been friends since we were little, right?"  
"Thanks, Sho, but I'm really not all that sure," murmured Kazuhiro. "But let's not talk about that, shall we? I'm sure that my father is perfectly fine right now."

Rika stiffened a little bit. For some reason, she couldn't help but feel a little worried about Kimiyoshi Kiichirou. Tonight, something terrible was going to befall all of Hinamizawa. That she knew all too well. So it wouldn't be surprising if Kimiyoshi got into some kind of accident considering his weak condition. "Hey, Hanyuu, do you think that maybe Kimiyoshi…?"  
Hanyuu looked alarmed at the conclusion that Rika had come to. "I'm sure he's fine, Rika!" she responded, not even thinking about it. "I mean, what does he have to worry about? There's no reason Mion would hurt him or anything."

Rika nodded, deciding it was best to accept Hanyuu's answer for now.

"On the subject of heirs, have you seen that Sonozaki girl tonight?" the man called Sho asked Kazuhiro. "I saw her hanging out with a couple of friends but it seems as if she disappeared after the cotton drifting ceremony. I didn't see her drift a piece down the river or anything like that."

Rika froze. Now that she thought about it, it was true. Mion appeared to have disappeared without setting her cotton down. How could she have not noticed something like that? Mentally, the miko slapped herself in the face over and over again, though she wanted to do something more painful to herself for not noticing something so important. Perhaps Mion did do something.

Kazuhiro grinned. "Which Sonozaki girl?" he joked, though he knew that the other man was certainly talking about Mion.

Sho laughed. "Oh, you know, Mion! Not Shion! It's so easy to get them confused. To tell you the truth, I was so shocked when I found out that there were two of them! That really explained a lot."

He laughed along with his friend, memories flooding back to him. "Oh yeah! So was I, so was I! I remember when Sonozaki Akane-san walked in carrying two Mions in her arms! I was so shocked. I thought that she had cloned her poor daughter! But nope, it turns out there were just two of them for the very beginning. You should have seen my fact at the time! I looked as if I had just seen a demon!" he joked, nudging his old friend playfully in the stomach.

Sho nodded. "Oh, I wish I had been there to see it! But the most hilarious thing was seeing how that Furude girl reacted. Her eyes were as wide as planets and she stared screaming something about how they were going to clone us all and eat our souls!"

Upon hearing this, Rika instantly frowned. Hanyuu, on the other hand, was having the time of her life laughing her head off. "I remember! I remember that!" cried Hanyuu in between her laughs. "It was so funny! You kept pleading to your mother not to clone you because you thought it would be really creepy and that your clone would be some kind of soul-eating monsters!" Hanyuu fell over on her back, hooting with laughter while Rika wished that she had some wine to shut her up with. She wasn't very fond of these old memories. In truth, they brought her pain. She was once an innocent young girl. That endless June had forever ruined that cute, innocent girl.

"Oh well. It's a shame, though. She didn't seem to be all that cheery when I saw her," commented Kazuhiro. "It's like she's grown mature all of a sudden. I don't really understand why, though. It is the Watanagashi after all."

Rika frowned. That was exactly the reason she wasn't happy. Why didn't anyone remember that tonight, someone was supposed to die and someone to disappear? Had they really believed that the rage of Oyashiro-sama had calmed? "Hanyuu, I'm getting sick of listening to these people. How about if we go home and have a rest? I don't think that there's really anything we can do if we don't have a clue about what's going to happen," she suggested. While she did know it had something to do with Mion's transformation into her true form, she wasn't sure who her targets were and even if she was still undergoing that transformation. Had Keiichi done his job and confessed to Mion? She didn't know.

Hanyuu opened her mouth to protest, but shut it when she realized that Rika was right. There was nothing that they could really do about it. She nodded her head slowly yet hesitantly and Rika stood up. She whipped herself around and made her way through the thick forests. Right now, she had to go to the Saiguden to record absolutely everything that had happened that night. If she was writing a tale that would forever stay in the history of Hinamizawa, she needed to include everything, even if it took her hours to write down everything.

~~~~X~~~~

Rena was sitting on the grass in front of the Furude Shrine, gazing at the stars glistening like fireflies. She was thinking about how her life was. Rena found she dreaded going to school more and more ever since Mion stopped club activities. That was the one reason why she enjoyed going to school everyday. She felt sad that Mion had been so down. Tonight was the first night in ages that they had played any sort of game together as a whole group. For some reason, Mion seemed to be down most of the time. Rena hugged the giant bear she had gotten from Keiichi close to her, admiring how soft it was. It was the cutest bear she had ever seen in all her life of hunting for treasure. There was nothing that could compare, besides maybe those animal-shaped crackers that Hisao had bought for her that one day. She still kept those in a special place on her room. She found herself admiring it every once in a while, wondering to herself why she had found it so cute compared to all the other cute things she had dragged home.

Rena let out a large sigh as she felt herself fall into the grass. Cheers of drunken townspeople flooded the air, making the orange-haired girl feel a little sick. She wanted to be having a good time, too. But for some reason, she just couldn't. She tried to make herself happy by forcing herself to smile, but that did no good. She had heard several times from her friends that smiling tricked your brain into thinking that you were happy. She had tried it several times before, and it had worked, but now it seemed it didn't. She finally stopped trying to pretend to be happy and a solemn expression covered her face, showing off her true feelings. She just wanted to be genuinely happy again, to play with her friends everyday afterschool, and to make fun of whoever got the punishment game jokingly.

"Rena-chan?" a voice suddenly piped up from out of nowhere. "Is that you over there? I can't really see in this night."

Rena turned her head around and caught sight of Hisao walking down to greet her. He had a strangely grim expression on his face, something rare for Hisao who usually wore a look of nervousness or a similar emotion. Rena couldn't help but smile a little at the sight of him. He was the only person who kept her strong in this time of unhappiness. "Yeah, It's Rena alright. It's good to see you, Hisao-kun. You look serious," she said; pointing to his face with one finger while keeping the rest gripped to the soft, fake fur covering the cute bear in her lap.

Hisao nodded. "Yeah, I know. I need to speak to you about something important, Rena. It's really, really, really important and I need you to listen to everything I say." Hisao slowly walked forward a little more and sat down on the grass in front of her. He looked at the bear in her hands, smiling just a tad at how her love of cute things still hadn't disappeared in even the darkest of times.

Rena nodded her head, though a pang of confusion filled her emotions. "Okay. Rena will listen to whatever Hisao has to say to her, because Hisao is her friend. Now what is it that Hisao has to say to Rena?" she asked as she used a finger to stroke the fur of the adorable brown bear absentmindedly.

Hisao looked down into the grass, going over in his head how to explain things to Rena. He bit his lip, not wanting to scare her with the news he had to share. "Well, I could say a lot of things before this, but I'll get right to the point," he started out; tracing invisible patterns in the grass they sat on. Then, he looked up. Serious purple eyes met confused blue eyes as he began to speak.

"Rena-chan, your life is in danger."

Rena froze to the ground. The grip she had on the cute teddy bear faded and it fell from her arms, crashing head first in the grass. "E-Excuse me?" she said, her voice shaky. "…Could you repeat that?"

Hisao nodded. "I… I said your life is in danger," he spoke again, this time his normal stuttering showing slightly. Rena had noticed that he had stopped stuttering recently and seemed to be acting quite a bit braver. She applauded him for that. He was certainly a more brave and strong person than he was when he moved here.

Rena didn't really know what to say due to shock. If Hisao wasn't lying, then things were about to get very messy. She gulped a little, adjusting the black collar on her white dress. "…Can you please tell me, Hisao-kun?"

The boy looked rather hesitant as he glanced down at the ground with his eyes narrowed slightly. He was debating about whether or not he should just tell Rena about his supposed sister's scheme or if he should keep it to himself. Etsuko would kill him if he told anyone. Then, another thought crossed his mind. He had already abandoned Etsuko and decided that he wouldn't live in fear of her anymore. He had to take his own life for himself. Telling someone about the scheme was the only way to stop it before it got worse. He gulped, imagining the horrible things Etsuko would do to him when she found out. Though he shook that thought off and thought about how wonderful life would be once things were returned to normal. Determined, he look up at Rena and took a deep breath. "Etsuko is using you as bait, you see. She plans on getting you killed for her own little scheme she has been plotting for such a long time. I'm… I'm the only person who she has told it to. I'm sorry…"

Rena tilted her head to the side in a mixture of horror and confusion. She was being used as bait… why? "Can you tell me her scheme and why I'm being used as bait?" Rena requested. "I'd like to know, but… Rena understands if you can't tell."

Hisao shook his head. "No… No. I will tell you."

Just as Hisao opened his mouth to speak, however, they heard the sound of loud footsteps coming from nearby. A figure was running up the steps with a look of horror painted across his face. He looked as if he had just run a marathon and had seen the most terrifying creature along the way. Spotting Rena and Hisao as he neared the top, he ran towards them.

Keiichi halted when he reached the two of them. They both stared at him blankly, wondering why he looked like he did. He was panting louder than he had ever done before and his whole body looked extremely worn out. He wiped a little bit of sweat away from his forehead as he desperately attempted to catch his breath. "Hisao… Rena," he breathed. "You'll never believe… no… I just saw something horrible."

Both of the teenagers looked at him, confused and curious. He had clearly run a long way just to tell them of such news. Besides, hadn't he gone home for the night? "What happened, Keiichi-kun? I wonder, I wonder," Rena spoke, though a little hesitant to use her normal cute tone. This was clearly a serious matter.

Keiichi stopped panting and looked at the two of them with a strangely serious face. "Well, you know how I was going home, yes?" he began to explain. "Well, I…. argh. Guys, let's just put it this way for now, okay? I'll tell you all the rest in five seconds," he said, finding it hard to talk after running such a long way at such a fast pace. "Kimiyoshi… the village head is dead."

"W-What!" Rena cried almost immediately. "How! How did he die? Where?" she demanded.

Keiichi felt a little overloaded with questions, but he continued anyways. "Well, you see… that's the confusing part. When I found him, he looked like he got chopped or something like that. And not only that… but I found Mion against a tree, covered in blood. She looked horrified and kept telling me that it wasn't her who killed him. I told her I believed her and that I'd help her… but…" Keiichi paused, his face twisting into an even more grim expression. "She… she said no. She told me to leave and started screaming that she'd hate me if I stayed and that she didn't want me to see her… for some reason. So… So I did. I left her all alone. B-But when I did… I kept hearing her screams…"

Rena gasped at the story. "W-What was that? Mi-chan was there? Did she…?"

Hisao's heart dropped to his stomach and he felt as if he was just hit by a blizzard, causing him to freeze up. His eyes grew to the size of plates and his jaw dropped down. "…No!" he cried out. "No! No!"

Both of the teenagers glanced at Hisao, rather confused as to why he was so shocked. "What is it, Hisao-kun? Does it have to do with-" Rena didn't get to finish her sentence. Hisao glanced at her with large eyes, his face looking horrified.

"Maebara-san, take me there right now!" Hisao demanded. "I need to see… I need to see!"

And with that, the three teenagers stood up. Rena grabbed her stuffed bear by the paw tightly, not wanting to leave it despite the situation. Then, they broke out into dashing almost the speed of light. Keiichi led them down the very path he had been walking a few minutes earlier, looking out for that tree where Mion had been.

"This is all my fault! All my fault!" cried Hisao as he too ran down the paths. "If I had just told you guys in the first place!"

Keiichi looked a little confused. "Wait, what do you mean by that, Hisao?" he asked him, giving him a glance and ignoring the road up ahead.

Hisao shook his head. "I should have told you guys about this. Etsuko has been planning this for ages. I just want to see if it's really what I think it is and then I'll tell you guys everything you need to know."

Keiichi nodded and went back to focusing on the road ahead. He could just barely make out the tree that Mion had collapsed against in the distance. He knew it was that one, as he saw a little bit of red on the surface near it.

Hisao kept mentally cursing himself, feeling like an idiot. He could have prevented all this from happening. From the very beginning, he had known everything that was going to happen and yet he never told a soul. It was because he was too afraid of Etsuko and too afraid of the others besides Rena. But now, Keiichi was his friend. If only he had become friends with Keiichi earlier. Perhaps he could have worked up enough courage to tell him about it and save all of Hinamizawa from a terrible disaster. He wanted to slap himself, but he couldn't now. They were approaching the spot where Keiichi had been. _When I get a look at Mion, I'll know for sure. Then I'll get Keiichi to confess if he likes her, and everything should be fine! But then again, there's still Etsuko to deal with._

Keiichi halted as he came closer to the area stained with a deep crimson. He didn't want to accidently run over the corpse anything like that. That would be just plain disgusting. Hisao and Rena ran a bit ahead before they realized that Keiichi had stopped and forced themselves to stop in their tracks. Dust flew about them at the sudden stop, causing Rena and Hisao to cough a little. Then slowly, the three of them approached the tree and the body.

Hisao covered his mouth with his hand as he spotted it. It was indeed Kimiyoshi. He had seemed to be cut straight through the head and his upper body. The stench of all the blood combined with the scent of dead body was making him feel even worse. Rena plugged her nose as she carefully observed it, wondering to herself what could have caused this to happen.

_Well, it doesn't look like a demon killed him or anything_. Hisao thought as he looked at the corpse. Then again, he had only ever heard of a demon clawing up people from his sister. They surely had other ways to kill other than using their claws.

"She's gone," murmured Keiichi. Hisao followed Keiichi's gaze and found that he was looking towards a bloodstained tree. He had said that he had found Mion against a tree. The chance that she was still there in the first place had been rather slim. Hisao took a few steps forward, observing the area around the tree. There were a few claw markings here and there, causing his fears to escalate to their highest levels. He glanced about the floor, noticing a few bloody footprints leading into the forest.

"Uh, Maebara-san, Rena-san? Did you see these bloody footprints?" he asked, pointing to one of them. "I just noticed them a few seconds ago, but…"

Keiichi's eyes widened as he took a good look at them. "Perhaps they belong to the killer! Or… or maybe they belong to Mion!"

Rena nodded. "In any case, I think that we should follow them and find out for ourselves what they are exactly. I think that we can solve this mystery," she spoke, looking into the trees and trying to spot any more footprints. They seemed to be leading deep into the forest and over to the Furude Shrine. "I think the person is going in the direction of the Saiguden. That's over this way, right?"

Keiichi shook his head. "I don't know. That place is only for Furudes, after all. Maybe Rika would know, but there's no time. I think we should just follow them and find out for ourselves."

Hisao nodded in agreement. "Yes, I think that's a good idea."

Rena nodded as well. "Alright, then we shall!" she spoke out. She took the giant teddy bear in her arms and sat it on the ground, smiling at it. "I'm sorry, Mr. Bear, but I will be back for you in a little while. So for now, can you wait for me to go and fetch Mi-chan? I'm sure she'd like to meet you," she spoke, stroking its brown fur. She gave it one last glance before she looked away from it, staring into the eyes of her two friends.

"All right, are we all ready to go look into the woods or do we need to do something else?" Keiichi asked the two other club members. They both shook their heads. "All right then! Maebara Keiichi moving out!"

And with that, the three friends dashed forward into the woods, looking down at the bloody footprints. They seemed to be of bare human feet. Keiichi didn't really understand why the person wasn't wearing any shoes, but he threw that thought aside. He had more important things to worry about besides what the person was wearing. He needed to know who it was. Was it the murder's tracks or was it Mion's tracks? It wouldn't be surprising if the tracks belonged to Mion. She had disappeared, after all. Though it was possible that the murderer WAS Mion despite her desperately telling him that it wasn't. But he had thrown that idea aside because he didn't want to doubt his friends in any way. He had learned that doubting his friends always lead to their downfall.

"There are two paths!" cried Rena.

Keiichi nodded. "Yeah, it looks like this person took the right path, judging by these footprints. Let's go."

The three friends dashed down the right path. Keiichi kept his eye on the footprints on the ground while Rena observed the landscape around them. Hisao was doing a mix of both, though most of the time he was simply murmuring to himself about how he hoped "it" wasn't true, whatever "it" was.

"Saiguden!" cried Rena as she spotted the tool shrine.

"So we were right!" Keiichi commented, though he did not look up from the footsteps on the ground. He found himself growing a bit tried from running, though he tried to throw that off. Right now more than ever he needed to stay strong and focus on the task at hand. This was a very serious matter. The three club members walked right past the Saiguden and began to follow the bloody footprints uphill. For a moment, Rena could have sworn she saw Rika just outside the Saiguden. She told herself that she was just imagining it and moved on. There was no time to try to take her home. Right now, they had a murderer to catch and a friend to find.

"Hey wait a second," Hisao spoke to the others for what seemed to be the first time in forever. "Isn't this the hill we walked up to go to the camping grounds?" he realized as he glanced about the landscape. Surely this spot was the same spot where Mion and Keiichi had attacked Rena to steal those animal-shaped crackers.

"Yeah!" Rena cried out. "This is the spot where Mi-chan and Keiichi-kun ganged up on me to kill the animal-shaped crackers!" she remembered.

Keiichi frowned. "We weren't trying to kill them, we were just hungry," he grumbled.

Rena shot him a glare. "You killed the animal-shaped crackers, you murderer! They were so cute and so innocent and you and Mion went ahead and killed them!" she accused.

Keiichi glanced at Rena and sighed. "Okay, can we focus on finding this murderer instead? I think that a person murderer is more important and evil than a person who 'murders' animal-shaped crackers," he requested.

Rena let out a small chuckle and looked away from him, returning to observing the scenery. "I was joking, just so you know."

This was the same place where Hisao and her and become friends for the very first time. So much bonding had occurred during that time. She felt a pang of sadness in her as she remembered those fun times. They had played so many games together. Now, the club was falling apart for some unknown reason. Rena felt a little sad as she remembered the scavenger hunt and all the other fun games they had played during the camping trip. It seemed as if it had taken place such a very long time ago.

"I see it! The camping grounds are just up ahead!" Rena alerted the two other club members. And soon enough, the three of them dashed through the trees and came to a circular opening. This was the camping ground, an area they all remembered very well. Keiichi blushed a bit as he recalled the time he and Mion had almost kissed. That was the closest he had ever gotten to her and a certain pink-haired person had interrupted it. Keiichi sighed a little. He couldn't think about such a thing. Mion had probably long forgotten about it as well.

"The tracks continue on anyways," Keiichi pointed out as he stuck out his index finger towards the tracks in the dirt. "You see? They must have walked into the forest. Perhaps they are at the river?"

With that, they dashed across the large grounds and were plunged back into the annoyingly thick woods. Keiichi found it a little annoying to keep up with the tracks with all the branches and such getting in the way of him. "Hey, these tracks lead to the river, but then they circle back and go off another way. I guess the person went to the river but changed directions?"

Hisao nodded. "I-… I think so. How about if we just continue onwards and ignore the river? The murderer is certainly not there if that is the case."

Both Rena and Keiichi agreed to this and they followed the footsteps deeper into the forest. How far did this person go just to hide? Keiichi was beginning to get a little more worn from walking such a long distance though he found it a little easier than when he was climbing up for the camping trip. Rena kept looking at the scenery, soon recognizing the area she was in as the area her and Hisao hung out when he first asked her to be his friend. Rena smiled warmly at such a memory. It seemed like a forever since they began friends.

Soon, they came to a giant cave embedded in a cliff. Keiichi looked down at the ground and found that the footsteps led into the cave but did not go out. "I think the person is hiding in there. It doesn't appear they have come out of the cave judging by the footprints. You see? They go in, but not out," he said, pointing to the trail of footprints leading into the darkness. Hisao nodded, realizing this as well.

"I think that we should take a look. It might be dangerous, though," Rena spoke, her arms crossed as she stared into the darkness. She was unable to see much inside, and began to doubt the safety of the cave. "They might jump out and attack us or something like that."  
Keiichi shook his head as he took a step forward, peering his head into the darkness. He was unable to make out any figures inside. "HELLO!" he called into the darkness. However, the only response he received was the echo of his voice, repeating that one word over and over again. With a sigh, he tried yelling again. "Hello there, is anyone in there?" he called.

Still, silence. Rena frowned as she too tried to get a better look into the darkness, finding nothing at all. "I wonder if Mi-chan is in there? Try calling her name and see if she responds," Rena suggested to the boy that stood next to him.

Keiichi took a deep breath as he stepped a little further in the cave. "MION!" he called out into the dark cave. "ARE YOU THERE, MION? OR SOMEONE ELSE MAYBE?" He stood back, waiting for a response from the darkness. "IT'S ME, KEIICHI!"

"…Don't come in!" a voice screamed out from the other side of the darkness. This was the familiar voice of Sonozaki Mion, though it sounded slightly shaky. Keiichi's eyes widened.

"MION! COME ON, IT'S ME, MAEBARA KEIICHI! CAN YOU PLEASE TELL ME WHY YOU ARE HIDING IN THERE?" he called out once again. "WHY DID YOU RUN AWAY?"

An immediate response followed. "DON'T LOOK AT ME!" she screamed out. Her voice sounded a little strange, almost as if she was desperate for him not to come inside. "DON'T LOOK AT MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Keiichi ignored her however. He gave Hisao and Rena a single glance. "I'm going to go in," he explained to them. "I need to see how Mion is. I can't just leave her like this even though she wishes for me not to."

Hisao and Rena nodded with understanding. "Alright, that makes sense. Go ahead. Rena will wait for you!" cried Rena, smiling.

Keiichi nodded and dashed into the darkness. He was soon enveloped in it and he found himself almost unable to see anything at all. He tried his best to follow the bloody footprints down the cave, as he didn't know how the cave was laid out. There could be multiple paths or the cave could just be one simple room for all he knew. He narrowed his eyes as he attempted to make out the figure of Mion laying anywhere in the cave. He just needed to know if she was okay. What if she was dying?

Then, Keiichi caught sight of a strange green glow in the dark. Two, glowing green eyes were staring at him. They were wide and looked horrified as they caught sight of the boy standing in front of them. Slowly, the figure that the eyes belonged to became clear. Lying in front of him was Mion, looking almost perfectly normal save for a few distinctive features. Keiichi noticed a pair of white horns protruding from the top of her head. Eyes widened, he looked down at her hands and saw sharp, white claws on each finger. Her mouth was slightly open, revealing two pointy fangs coming down from the top of her mouth. Keiichi covered his mouth to prevent himself from screaming out in pure shock and horror as he stared wide-eyed at the demon girl in front of him.

"Why?" Mion spoke, sounding extremely sad, "why did you have to look?"

Keiichi took a few steps back form the girl to look at her from a distance. She looked incredibly worn, her kimono stained with dried up blood. She looked really upset, almost as if she were about to cry. "M-Mion… what happened?"

She opened her mouth to speak, making Keiichi look at those horrifying fangs once again. He once again held back the urge to scream, wondering what had happened to his friend. "Why? Why didn't you listen to me? I didn't want you to see me like this," Mion spoke. A few tears drifted down from her eye and splattered against the floor of the cave as she stared up into his eyes. "If you had listened to me, you wouldn't have ever known. T-Then… then everything could have gone on like normal when I was done…"

Keiichi crouched down on the ground. He was hesitant to touch her, worrying that something bad would happen to him. But the, he remembered something. Mion was his friend no matter what she looked like, even if she looked like some kind of monster right now. He slowly reached out and touched her hair, stroking her green locks to comfort her. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Mion. I'm… so sorry," he apologized over and over again. He too looked as if he were about to cry, and at that moment, Mion wondered why he looked so upset. "What… what happened? Please, please tell me," he begged. "You look like… a… a…"

"A demon," Mion finished. She looked away, scared to tell him the truth. She wondered if she should just go ahead and tell him of her true identity, but she was too afraid. After all, Etsuko's words still burned strong in her mind.

_"Surely Keiichi-kun would be horrified if he saw what you truly look like under that human disguise you wear to mask your true self. You're a demon, a savage monster who cares about nothing but killing. And no one loves a demon."_

There wasn't much use now, however. She already looked like one to Keiichi. He would forever think of her as a demon, someone who he couldn't love because of her species. Mion felt her heart shatter into a thousand pieces. Keiichi would never love her now. The tears that fell from her eyes turned into a waterfall as she stared up and observed his features. He was so kind, so handsome, so _amazing_. Now, she had lost whatever chance she had with him. "I'm sorry Kei-chan… I'm a… I'm a… I'm really a…" she found herself unable to finish her sentence.

Keiichi frowned. He hated seeing Mion like this. Right now, she needed him more than anything else in the whole world. Slowly and hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his muscular chest, stroking her the green locks of hair that fell from her head. "There, there. I won't hate you. You're my friend, Mion. I'll listen to you and that will never, ever change. Keiichi comforted. "In fact, I even lo-," he couldn't finish that last word no matter how hard he tried to spit it out of his mouth. He sighed and held her closer, bringing his head close to hers and nuzzling her lovingly.

Mion clung to his body, careful not to hurt him with her claws and whimpered into his chest, finding his presence comforting. "I… I'm not a human, Kei-chan. I'm a demon…" she said. After those words left her mouth, however, she instantly regretted them. Demons were savage beings, not something to love. She began to cry into his shirt softly, wondering how Keiichi would think of her now. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, I…"

"Stupid!" cried Keiichi. His grip around Mion tightened and he practically squashed Mion against his chest. "That's no reason for me to hate you! I mean, it's a shock, but who cares! You're still my Mion and that's all I care about!" he spoke, rocking the demon girl in his arms. "I don't care if you're a human or if you're a demon or if you're an insect or anything like that! You're _my_ Mion!"

Tears welled up in Mion's eyes. This time, they were not tears of unhappiness. They were tears of pure joy and love. She looked up at him, smiling at him. "Kei-chan…" she whispered. Slowly, she pulled herself closer to his mouth and brought her lips to his. She brushed her lips against his gently; ready to fully kiss him on the mouth. Keiichi's lips curved into a smile as he too pulled her close, encouraging her to kiss him.

"Keiichi-kun! Mi-chan!" a voice cried out from outside. As Mion identified the voice as Ryuuguu Rena's, rage filled her along with the madness she had pushed away before. She pulled away from Keiichi before they could kiss fully and glanced towards the entrance. "What's taking you so long? Is she okay?"

Keiichi was rather irritated, to say the least. "Yeah, she's fine!" he called back, trying not to show the annoyance in his tone. Mion pushed her whole body away from him and stood up, glancing towards the entrance with pure madness in her eyes. She clenched her fists together and barred her fangs. Rena was here? What was she doing with Keiichi? How _dare_ she interrupt their romantic moment!

As Rena came running down the path, Mion got ready to pounce. She held her claws up to inspect them, making sure they were as sharp as knives so she could claw her to death the moment she came close. When Rena stopped, she gasped in surprise and tumbled backwards, shocked at the state Mion was in. "Mi-chan? Is that you? Is that you? What happened, what happened? I wonder, I wonder," Rena spoke, glancing down the girl's body. When she saw her staring at her with her fangs barred and her claws stretched outwards, she began to fear for the worst. She glanced over to Keiichi on the floor, who was completely oblivious to the demon's malicious stance.

"Oh, she's just changed in appearance a little bit. But she's still Mion, so it doesn't really matter," Keiichi explained, a grin on his face. "Isn't that right, Mion?"

To his surprise, however, Mion said nothing in agreement. She continued to stare down Rena as if she were about to attack, glaring at her with clear madness. Rena blinked back at Mion, taking a few more steps back as she prepared to run as fast as she could. Why wasn't Keiichi freaking out? Did she not do the same thing to her?

"You, Rena," hissed Mion, her voice bitter with hatred. "Why are you here?"

Rena averted her eyes, too scared to look at Mion in the eyes. "I came here because I was worried about you. What happened, what?" she asked again.

"You happened!" snapped Mion. Then, she made her move. With her claws outstretched, she pounced at Rena. With her eyes wide, Rena found herself unable to move. Then, suddenly, a figure pushed Rena out of the way and Mion pinned him instead.

"Hisao-kun!" cried Rena as she noticed Mion's claws pinning the boy to the ground. He was looking up at Mion with scared eyes, surprised that he had done such a bold action. Mion opened her mouth ever so slightly so she could show the boy her sharp, white teeth.

"I don't need you," spat Mion, "I'm here to kill Rena, not you!"

Keiichi gasped at those words. "Mion… what did you just say?"

Mion did not even give him the slightest glance as she threw Hisao aside and charged at Rena with her head, aiming to crush her stomach with her horns. Rena backed up against the wall of the cave and looked about for a way to escape. Finding none, she gulped and braced herself for the incoming attack.

"NO!" screamed Hisao. Without thinking, he ran at Mion and pushed her with his body, flinging her off course and causing her body to slam to the ground. He gasped at his actions and slowly backed away. "Why… why did I do that?" Hisao spoke to himself in disbelief.

Mion stood up slowly, growling at the boy. She held her claws up, as if to warn him. "You remind me of Hajime. He wanted to protect the girl he loved and ended up paying for it with his life. Do you wish to die, Hisao?" she warned the scared boy.

Slowly, Hisao shook his head. "No!" he cried out with such intensity that it startled even himself. "No, I don't want to die! But there's no way I'm going to sit back here and watch as you murder Rena!"

Mion narrowed her eyes. "Since when did you grow so brave?" she questioned him. "Or are you just pretending… Ryuga Ryota?"

Hisao shot her a puzzled look. "Ryota?" he repeated.

Mion laughed a little bit. "Oh yeah. You don't remember, now do you? I guess Etsuko took you in after that. Man, she really screwed you up! Hisao… hah!" she said, snorting at the mention of his false name.

Hisao seemed to realize she was talking about something that had to do with his past. With wide and curious eyes, he looked at her. "If this is about my past, then please tell me! What did Etsuko do to me? What did she do?" Hisao demanded.

Once again, Mion laughed. "Oh, she's just been taking care of the person who she hates for a few years. She never really cared about you before that incident happened," she spoke, crossing her arms. "Unfortunately, I can't tell you very much because there's no way for me to know what happened between you two when I wasn't around. But I can tell you this," she said as she took a few steps forwards. She placed her claws on his chin and lifted his head up so that their eyes met directly. "Your name is not Ohba Hisao."

Hisao blinked. "Wait a moment, what's my name, then? Did Etsuko change my name?" he asked her.

Mion nodded. "You are Ryuga Ryota and are in no way related to Etsuko. You used to live in Hinamizawa all by yourself in a small house. Etsuko changed your name after that little incident," she explained to him while she gazed at him with eyes full of insanity. When Hisao gazed into them, he felt as if he were gazing into the eyes of someone who had no sense of humanity, a complete and utter monster.

Hisao slumped to the ground, looking a little defeated. "Ryuga Ryota, Ryuga Ryota," he murmured to himself over and over again.

Mion smirked as she turned around to face Rena once again. She flipped her hand over and showed off the length of her sharp claws proudly. "Alright, Rena. Prepare to die."

Mion lunged forward with her claws outstretched. Rena jumped to the side and watched as Mion rammed into the wall. All she could really do now was dodge and hope for the best. Without her cleaver, she really couldn't do too much. She was not very adept in the use of material arts nor was she really good with fighting psychically unless she was in take-it-home mode. However, there really wasn't anything here to pull the take-it-home mode trigger. Mion pulled away from the wall, glaring at Rena out of the corner of her eye. She opened her mouth slightly to reveal the length of her white fangs, causing Rena to freeze in fear. "That hurt, that hurt," she growled at her. Two marks were left on the cave wall from her horns smashing against it. She narrowed her eyes as she whipped herself around. She once again ran forward with her claws outstretched. This time, however, Rena had no time to dodge the enraged her. Her claws raked against her face, causing the orange-haired girl to cry out in pain. Blood dripped down from the top of her forehead into her eyes. All Rena could see was red. She rubbed her eyes, trying to restore her vision.

Mion grinned as she slashed her claws against the girl's stomach, earning her another scream from Rena. She then placed a hand on the katana in her sheath.

Slowly, she pulled the katana out. It had stains of blood on it from before, which Mion brushed off with her kimono. She held it both her hands, smiling victoriously at Rena. "You're pretty much dead the moment I take this thing out. Nothing can stop a demon with a sword like this," she explained, holding the diagonally so Rena could take a good look at the cursed blade as well as her face.

Rena slowly shook her head, taking a few more steps back. Mion smirked as she positioned the katana for the kill. Surely she would be able to kill her with a single slash. Rena closed her now restored eyes and braced herself for the killing blow.

But the blow never came.

Peaking a single eye open, Rena caught sight of Mion. Keiichi had his arms wrapped around her body, preventing movement. She thrashed and struggled to break free from his grasp to no avail. "Kei-chan! Let me go! Let me go!" she cried out, trying to wriggle away from his tight grasp while at the same time trying to prevent the blade of the katana from cutting him. He was the last person she wanted to get hurt.

But Keiichi just shook his head and tightened his grip. "I'm sorry, I can't allow that Mion. You see, Rena is a precious friend to me and I can't allow her to die like that. Even if you're my friend, I don't want to see you slash Rena up," he spoke. Mion stopped struggling as she titled her head to gaze into his firm blue eyes. She couldn't help but blush as their eyes met. He was just so handsome, even at a time like this. "Now listen. How about if we calm down a little bit? You… you were fine before Rena walked in. I just don't understand."

Mion looked down, ashamed of herself. "I'm… I'm sorry Kei-chan," she whispered. Keiichi let go of her, allowing Mion to drop to the floor out of pure shame.

Keiichi bent over and began to stroke Mion's green locks, smiling as he did so. She was so beautiful, even if she now had horns and claws. He smiled as she looked up at him with an adorable blush on her face. It made a warm feeling rise up inside of him, making him feel very comfortable despite the situation. He nuzzled her face gently and lovingly before looking down to stare into her eyes with his blue ones filled with intense amounts of love.

Mion titled her head to the side. Keiichi was behaving rather strangely. Not that she didn't like how he was acting. She absolutely loved the feel of his body against hers. She just couldn't get enough of it. She murmured something as she pushed herself against him, finding the feel of his chest against hers calming. She could feel his heart beat ferociously against her, full with life. Keiichi smiled warmly at her as he stroked her back with one arm and used the other to hold her close.

Hisao slowly stood up and took his place next to a stunned Rena. Her face was flushed as she watched the two people who were so obviously in love in front of her. "C…C…" she began to speak.

Hisao suddenly grew alarmed. "No! Rena! You can't! Don't get close to Mion or else!" he whispered to her, his voice urgent.

However, Rena didn't seem to hear. Smoke poured out from her ears and her face was as red as a tomato. "C…Cu…. CUTEEEEEEEEEEEE!" she squealed out. Hisao looked at Mion and Keiichi with panic and then slapped his hand on Rena's mouth, muffling her cries. He glanced nervously at Mion, who was now staring at them crossly.

"…Good bye!" Hisao murmured before he grabbed Rena's hand and ran as fast as he could out of the cave. Much to his dismay, it was almost impossible pulling Rena out in take-it-home mood. She was having a major nosebleed from the sight of Mion and Keiichi and it was splattering all over Hisao's clothing as well as her own.

Mion didn't seem too pleased. She instantly stood up and ran after them with inhuman speed, her fangs barred and her claws ready to tear through human flesh. Rena didn't seem to notice that her friend looked as if she were about to kill her as she continued to fantasize about what she had just seen, muttering to herself about how cute Mion and Keiichi had been in that moment. Mion didn't seem to hear her as her mind filled with ideas on how she would kill Rena when she caught her.

Keiichi stood up as well and followed after the three of them, screaming as he did so. "Wait a moment, Mion! Slowly down! Don't hurt them!" he cried out to her. Mion ignored him, however. Her mind was too filled with bloody thoughts to have any room to process what he was saying. As she drew close to a lagging Rena, she licked her lips. Then, she slowly stretched a hand out, ready to grab her and tear her into shreds.

Keiichi didn't know what to do. He couldn't hurt Mion, but he couldn't allow Rena to die. He decided to pick up the pace of his running so that he passed by Mion. Now, he was next to Hisao, grabbing onto Rena as he helped him tug her away. First, he'd save Rena. Then, once he'd gotten her to a safe spot, he'd come back to Mion and continue with their romantic moment. It seemed like the perfect plan to him.

Hisao, Rena and Keiichi met the daylight. Keiichi shielded his eyes from the intense light being emitted from the moon in the sky. For some reason, it was a lot brighter than usual. He gave a glance to Mion whose face was still full of evil intention. He murmured a quick "I'll come back for you," before dashing off into the nearby trees.

Mion halted. She couldn't leave the cave. She needed to stay here so that no human could see her. Annoyed, she turned around and stomped back in the cave. One returning to the spot she was in before, she curled up with her face buried in her arms.

"Damn that Rena!" cursed Mion as she rammed the ground with her balled fist. "Next time, I'll kill you for sure! Definitely!"

~~~~X~~~~

**Crimso's Corner.**

**It's ten pm, which was the deadline for us to email our teacher with the information about our essay. I didn't do it. Oh, whatever. I need help with the stuff anyways and my teacher is absent. Sigh. Oh well, let's not talk about school. I personally hate school and try not to think about it when I have free time.**

**So I'm basically writing at super speed. I do NOT want to go to camp with this fanfic left incomplete for a month. I need to finish this thing. I can't leave you guys hanging! Especially since you'll probably forget everything that's happened otherwise and lose interest in this fanfiction. I cannot allow that to happen. If it happens, I will spend every day at camp in shame. And people will look at me funny for it. But I don't care! I have more time to write now, which is good. I used to have to stay till six everyday after school for the play but now that it's over, I have nothing to do after school! Wait, I just said I wouldn't talk about school. Damn. IN any case, the play went awesome! Save for Friday, it was amazing. Friday… well, I explained it to you already. Saturday was epic win though. I'm so glad I decided to do the play. I met some cool people who were also doing the play (though some of them were younger than me. Oh well, most people I talk to are older than me).**

**In any case, I hope you enjoyed the fluff I added in this chapter ;). We haven't had fluff in ages, man! Another almost kiss in this chapter. I'm teasing you guys, aren't I? I kind of wanting to make them kiss but that's not possible. It would kill the plot of this fanfiction! At least their lips touched, right? Does that satisfy you guys for now? And don't be too mad at Rena for interrupting them that second time. You know you would have done the same thing if you were standing there watching Mion and Keiichi share a romantic moment. I know I would have. *Cries forever*. Leave a review and tell me what you think of this fanfiction or tell me predictions or whatever! As I always say, I love hearing from you guys. I hope you are all enjoying the Mion plushies I handed out last time. I wish I had a real one, though. In any case, I'm handing out Keiichi plushies to reviewers this time, so review! Keiichi is an amazing character, so you want to have a plushie of him. Trust me, you do. I fixed spell check, by the way. It wasn't checking grammatical errors before.**

***Stares unblinkingly at you***

**Hehe, you blinked. I win.**

**~Crimso**

**EDIT: Lol, I keep forgetting it's still night. If it suddenly changed to day at any point in this chapter, sorry. I already went back and fixed a few mistakes.**

**EDIT 2: I have edited this chapter a bit with suggestions from my reviewers. Thank you so much and I apologize.**


	31. Chapter 30: Cutting Ties

**Hello there all my friends! I hate analyzing quotes. I feel like I've started a chapter like that before. In any case, my English teacher is absent and I've finished all my work, which leaves me with nothing to do but write this. Oh yeah, my best friend says hi. She is sitting next to me drinking tea. I tried some, and it was awful. I don't get why she likes it so much. She went through tea withdrawal yesterday because she didn't have any during the school day. My friend also says, "MION, DON'T GROW UPSET, BE HAPPY MAN!"**

**I miss my English teacher :'(.**

**Can you believe its chapter 30? I can't.**

~~~~X~~~~

Rika dashed through the forest. Now that the Watanagashi was over, she had time to do whatever she wanted. The first thing she needed to do was go to the Saiguden and write down the events of today. Then, she had to look something up. Behind her was Hanyuu, glad that she didn't have to worry about banging into trees when she could simply go right through them. Though it was a sad thought. She missed out on the Battle of the Evil Eights, something she had been looking forward to participating in. As Rika approached the Saiguden area, she slinked passed the trees and into the open. The Saiguden stood there, large and proud.

Rika went inside. As usual, it gave off and ominous and unfriendly atmosphere. However, she didn't mind one bit. She was already used to the Saiguden's horrifying appearance. Slowly, she approached the box in the corner, almost unnoticeable to anyone. Surely someone who came in here wouldn't even notice that it was there with all those creepy torture tools lying everywhere. She opened it up and took out the book without a title. She opened it, setting her pencil down on the next blank page.

_Tonight was the Watanagashi, and I am unsure of what has happened. This Watanagashi started out as normal. Everyone gathered up for club activities. The first thing we did was play the shaved ice eating game. Rena won that one after being so captivated by the pretty colors. It seemed as if no one could beat here. After that, we went to the Takoyaki stand. As usual, there was one person who was stupid enough to swallow them all down at once. Shion and Mion both tied, which surprised me. Mion acted so strange and down during this time._

_ I think she was trying to lift her spirits up by playing along with the others, though it doesn't seem as if it worked too well. After the Takoyaki eating, we had the usual Shooting Gallery contest. I went first, getting some candy from the stand. It tasted good. The contest was that you had three bullets to knock down as many prizes as you can. One point for candy and two for bigger prizes. There was a bear in the center that was an instant win. Unfortunately, things went wrong quickly. Keiichi decided to shoot down the bear for Rena, who failed miserably and succeeded. He gave the bear to Rena, explaining that he had gotten it just for her. Sadly, Mion saw this and grew upset._

_ I haven't seen her since the Cotton Drifting ceremony. I wonder where she went off to? I heard some men talking and they said they hadn't seen her either. _

_ I am sure that this will not be my last entry for tonight. I will come back later and write down what has happened._

_ -Furude Rika, 1984._

With a sigh, Rika threw the pencil away and put the book back in its box. Then, she sat down on the dusty floor and lay back on the ground. "Hey, Hanyuu," she spoke to the invisible girl. "Can you tell me what you think is going to happen tonight?"

Hanyuu looked around, trying to figure out what to say. "Uh… someone is going to die?" she guessed.

Rika shot her friend an annoyed glare. "I knew that already," she growled at her.

Hanyuu frowned a little. "I don't really know anything besides that. Well, there's a chance Mion might transform into her true form. If that happens, we need to stop her from being seen from the villagers and find a way to change her back. I do not want to see a whole bunch of villagers freaking out among the village," she explained to her. Then, she turned to the still open brown box and took a look inside. "Here, Rika. I know you've already read this once, but read this book on demons again. It'll come in handy."

Rika slowly picked herself off the floor and wandered over to the cardboard box. She fished through the contents and pulled out a dusty book. _Onifaguchi Legends and Rules #2: Demons. _She took a single hand and began to brush the dust off of it before blowing the rest of it off. Returning to the floor, Rika opened up the book. Before, she had just taken the contents of the book to be a complete legend. Now, she knew better. Mion was indeed a demon and the things she had read in the book were true.

"Demons once lived outside of Onifaguchi in the thick forests," Rika read off of the page, slightly worn from age. "They took on the form of a human and often tricked villagers into wandering into their territory so they could feast on their flesh. A demon is normally completely undistinguishable from a human. However, they have a certain form called their true form." Rika flipped the page. "The true form of a demon looks nothing like a human. Instead, they resemble an animal or a cross between several animals. As a demon's insanity drops, they will slowly transform into their true forms. They will gain demonic features while still in their human form before finally fully transforming into their true forms."

Hanyuu nodded. "We know this already from Ayame's tale. Sayuri told all this to Ayame," she said as she read over Rika's shoulder. She glanced to the picture on the side, a drawing of a male demon. He looked like a normal human and she would have never known he was a demon if it weren't for the caption under the image reading _a male demon._

Rika flipped the page over. "Demons are almost unstoppable in their true forms. At this point, they have reached complete and utter insanity. Not only that, but their strength is doubled or sometimes even tripled. Demons in their true form usually use their claws to attack (if they have any) and also use their fangs (if they have any). However, each and every demon has a special power that varies from demon to demon."

Rika stopped reading at that moment, taking a few seconds to process what she had just read in that book. "I haven't heard of that before," she murmured.

Hanyuu nodded. "I don't recall Madoka haven't any powers that stood out," she marveled as she looked over the text a few times, taking in every single detail. They needed to remember it all so that they could be ready. Rika had decided that she would do _everything _she could to prevent a horrible fate from happening once again. "But I do think that's something to keep in mind. If Mion turns into her true form, she's going to be hard to take down."

Rika nodded as she flipped the page. There, on the next page, was a painting of a giant bird with wings decorated with many ancient patterns. It had no pupils in its eyes. It had extremely large talons sharp like blades and large as a giant butcher knife. From its beak, a storm of fire was being emitted. Tens of men were standing on the floor, running away from the creature. Some of them were lying on the ground, having tripped on rocks. Rika gulped at seeing such a horrifying picture. Below, there was a caption. _The true form of a demon named Rei. She was said to have swooped over the village of Onifaguchi, snatching up helpless men. She would burn them with her flames and then swallow them whole._

On the next page, there was another image of the same terrifying demon bird. She was sitting on the top of a mountain with several men surrounding her. Rika gasped as she looked up to the top of the demon. She was slurping down a live man as if he were a worm. The expression on his face was one of complete and utter horrification. It was an image sickening to look at. The men below were patched with burn marks and were looking up at the demon, screaming in horror at what was to be their fate.

"What in the world," murmured Rika in shock as she took in the image in front of her.

Hanyuu sighed. "I've heard about Rei before. It's a true story, unfortunately. She did exist. Though she lived long before Madoka did. I heard she burned down a good portion of the Onifaguchi village," she said. Slowly, she reached a transparent finger out to touch the image in front of her. She couldn't feel it at all, so the action was rather useless. "Hopefully Mion isn't anything like her."

Rika flipped the page once again. On the next page, there was a detailed story about this demon. She apparently had killed a good portion of Onifaguchi and burned down a bunch of the village before she was killed by another demon. She had gone on a rage after her son died and took it out on the helpless villagers of Onifaguchi. "I don't really need to know about her," murmured Rika. "Though I guess it's good to get an idea of the demons who used to live."

Having read enough of her tale, she turned to the next page and once again was met with a picture. On the page was another demon in its true form. It was a giant boar, completely coated with spikes. It had several tentacles sticking out of it. At the end of each tentacle, it held a human. Its mouth was wide open as he poured a bundle of helpless humans into his throat. Drool trickled down from its lips and formed puddles on the ground. Rika winced at the sight of it. It was truly a disgusting demon.

"Isao, a demon who had the ability to stun people by looking at them. When he had stunned a few humans, he would gather them up in a pile and eat them four or five at a time," read Hanyuu. She frowned at the sight of the demon. "He is truly a terrible demon, isn't he?

Rika nodded. "I hope Mion's true form doesn't resemble something so… well, you know," she spoke, half-jokingly. "I do not want to see Mion as a giant pig with tentacles. That's not something that strikes me as Sonozaki Mion." Rika looked over to the next page and read on. "He ate hundreds of people when he lived. It caused permanent damage to the village of Onifaguchi. Like Rei, he was killed by another demon."

Hanyuu frowned. "It appears as if every demon in here was killed by another demon," she spoke. "Are they really that powerful?"

"It doesn't matter," muttered Rika. "We're not going to kill Mion."

The miko turned to the next page in the book, and like before, she was met by the painting of yet another demon. This time, however, it was one that did not cause her to gasp in shock of how horrifying the demon was. It was a picture of what appeared to be a beautiful wolf standing in the moonlight. It didn't appear to have any strange features other than its tale, which seemed to resemble a reptile's rather than one of a wolf. "Manami, the demon whose looks are deceiving. While she does not appear to be one containing any evil, she might just be the cruelest of them all. She would trick men into falling in love with her and then kill them after making them believe that she returned their affections. She had the ability to infatuate anyone she wanted. She found it fun to play with the hearts of men and see them bleed," Rika read out loud. "…She was killed by a demon, too."

Hanyuu once again touched the picture, running her fingers down the painting of the demon. "Well, it seems that a demon's true form could look like anything. It makes me wonder what Mion would look like," she spoke.

Rika envisioned a demon in her mind. It was a creature that somewhat resembled a lizards except it had paws and ears. She shook that image out of her head, deciding it wouldn't be something Mion would be. She then imaged a giant horse with the head of a snake. Mentally erasing that image, she decided that it was also ridiculous. Mion would never look like that. Sighing, she gave up on the idea. She didn't really want to know. She didn't want to see her leader like that.

"Well, I think we're pretty much done here," murmured Rika as she stood up, tossing the book into the box. "How about if we go home for a rest? It's about time we get some sleep. We've been up much too long."  
Hanyuu nodded her head. "That sounds like a good idea. We'll figure out if something comes up."

The two Furudes exited the Saiguden, making sure to lock the door tightly so no one else intruded on it. There had been far too many people breaking in recently for her liking. With a sigh, she stepped down the large steps and onto the grassy grounds. She glanced into the forest, shuddering a little bit. It seemed to have an ominous feel shrouding it, giving off a feeling of fear. Something seemed a little off about it. Shaking away her feeling of doubt, she closed her eyes and began to wander into the forest.

"Wait a second, Furude-san!" a voice called out from nearby. She whipped herself around, focusing on the area it came from. A young boy came tumbling out from a bundle of nearby trees, panting heavily.

He looked up at her, grinning. "I knew you would be here," he spoke.

Rika narrowed her eyes. "What are you doing her, Katashi?" she demanded. "You shouldn't be hanging around the Saiguden. It's a place reserved for the Furude Family and the Furude Family alone."  
Katashi frowned. "Oh, I know. But I figured that you would be here and I needed to come see you. After all, you're said to be a descendant of Oyashiro-sama," he spoke, brushing off a bead of sweat trickling down his forehead.

At this moment, Rika became interested. "Well, yes. I'm a Furude, after all," she responded. Why would someone need a descendant of Oyashiro-sama? Then, something hit her. Perhaps someone had died and he was suspecting it had something to do with the curse, which had gone forgotten by most. "What is it?" she demanded. "Please tell me what happened!"

Katashi looked taken aback by Rika's fierce response. "Well, I found a dead body in the woods. It was really gross. You were the first person I thought of since you're a Furude," he explained as he pointed into the darkness of the forest. "Just down that way."

Rika's eyes widened. "A dead body?" she cried out in pure alarm. "Who's?"

Katashi shook his head. "I'm not too sure. I didn't really get a good look at it. I just saw blood and a scratched up arm and came running here. I didn't get to see their face," he explained. "But their arm was covered with scars! Ones from a long, long time ago. There were also new scratches that resembled her scars. It looked like an animal had torn them up!" he cried out, throwing up his arms for emphasis.

Rika looked over to the area where Katashi had been pointing too. Then, she gave the transparent god who stood behind her a quick look before she dashed without warning into the dark trees. Hanyuu gasped, covering her mouth before she followed her.

"Wait a moment, Furude-san! You don't know where you're going!" yelled Katashi as ran after the girl. He was breathing heavily as he desperately tried to catch up with the girl who was moving at a lighting-fast pace. Rika gave a glance behind her to confirm that he was still with her and then returned to maneuvering through the thick trees. A branch brushed against her and cut her cheek, but she ignored the slight pain. Right now, she was concerned with more important things. She suddenly halted as the scent of blood and rotting flesh grew strong. Katashi finally managed to catch up with her, panting as he stood next to her.

"It's right down here," Katashi explained in between breaths, "go on just a little further."

Rika nodded as she began to walk forward, pushing the low branches out of her way as she did so. Suddenly, she felt a tangle on the ground. She was a little too late, however, as she found herself falling. Rika grumbled as her face hit the ground, burring her body in a bundle of bushes. Katashi glanced down at her, looking rather worried.

"Are you alright, Furude-san? I forgot about the bushes surrounding this spot," Katashi asked, bending over to get a closer look at the girl. She stuck her hand out, offering it to her. Rika took it gladly and Katashi pulled her up. Rika brushed off the leaves clinging to her clothing from the fall, mumbling something under her breath.

"Be a little more careful, okay? The body is just right there," he spoke, pointing over to the river.

Rika almost tripped over the bushes, though she saved herself from falling at the last second. She stomped through the bushes, kicking away the tangles of branches. Once she got out, she kicked the clinging leaves off her feet and brushed her outfit off again. Then, she ran her fingers through her blue strands and let out a sigh.

Then, she caught sight of the crimson mess. She didn't see the body, but she could tell the victim suffered quite a brutal death. Glancing over to the tree, she recognized a few claw markings as well as a large blot of red blood. Looking down a little, she recognized a giant red blob as a human heart. _What the hell happened here? Who did this?  
_ She shook off the shock of the death. It wasn't too hard to do, really. She had seen more brutal things in her life. She then went up to the body, looking at it closely. Her hair seemed to be dyed with the blood that poured out of her. Giving it a closer look, she was able to indentify a strand of pink hair. Her eyes grew wide as realization hit her hard in the face. "Etsuko!" she cried. She stumbled back a bit; surprised that one of the club members had gone. "No! Not one of the club members!" she yelled out.

Katashi titled his head to the side. "Isn't that the name of the girl who asked me to break the lock of the Saiguden?" he wondered, thinking back to the day where he had helped Etsuko with her scheme unknowingly.

Rika nodded but said nothing as she continued to scan the body. Her stomach was ripped open along with her chest. Her heart had been removed, just as Rika had seen before. Looking a little closer, she could see a whole bunch of scratches like someone had slashed her with multiple knives in a straight line. "They look kind of like an animal attacked her, don't you think?" Katashi commented.

"An… animal?" muttered Rika as she poked the body, wincing at the feel.

Hanyuu gasped. Suddenly, her whole body began to shake. "R-Rika? Y-You know… maybe it wasn't an animal. M-Maybe it was… maybe it was a demon?" she suggested

Rika too gasped, whipping herself around to look at Hanyuu. "Do you really think she was the culprit? It would make sense, since she always acted a little clingy to Keiichi," she asked the goddess, her voice desperate for some answers. "Do you think?" she asked again almost instantly, not even giving the girl a chance to respond.  
Hanyuu nodded her head slowly. "I… I really do think so," she murmured. "After all… those look like claw markings."

"So it's true!" screeched Rika. "It really was her! So then, where is she now! TELL ME, HANYUU!" she demanded.

"Uh…" spoke a very confused Katashi, "Furude-san? Are you talking to me?" he asked, pointing to himself. "Because I'm pretty sure that my name is Katashi, not Hanyuu…"

Rika slapped herself in the face. She made a mental note to herself to be a little more careful when talking to Hanyuu with other people around before she turned back to the body, murmuring something about how stupid she was. "It was nothing," she mumbled. She used her finger to trace the scars covering her body, wondering where she had gotten them. They seemed to be scars from a long time ago. If that was the case, then had she been attacked before? That didn't make too much sense, seeing as how she didn't live in Hinamizawa before. But then, did that mean Mion wasn't the one who killed her? Rika rubbed her throbbing head. This was giving her quite the headache. Sighing, she sat back down.

"I think we shouldn't try to solve this right now," murmured Rika. "I think that we should tell the others and leave it up to the police to figure this out. It's hurting my head."

Katashi nodded in agreement. "Got it. Should I go fetch my dad? I'm sure he'll be able to figure it out. He is a police officer, after all!" he spoke, puffing out his chest with the pride of being the son of a policeman.

Rika nodded. "Go do it."

~~~~X~~~~

Three panting figures stood in the deep night. One of them collapsed on the floor, wiping his forehead off. The other two looked down on him with worried eyes. He didn't seem to be in such a great condition.

"Hey, Maebara-san, are you okay?" asked Hisao as he crouched down so that he was on level with him. "You look pretty worn out."

Keiichi nodded his head, his eyes shut tight. "Yeah, I guess I am. There's nothing like running away from a demon," he grumbled as he turned over, the grass cushioning his head. "Though I'm a little more concerned about you, Rena," he said, peaking his eye open to get a good look at the girl who stood in front of him. She looked a little startled by the sudden mention of her name. Keiichi looked down at her stomach. Her white dress was stained with red blood, making an ugly mark.

"Oh, I'm fine. Don't worry about me," she said, smiling. "I'm not worried at all about me. I'm sure these wounds will fade away in a good amount of time," she spoke, as she pointed a finger to her face. There was the nasty mark of Mion's five claws running across her face, causing a distraction from her beautiful sapphire eyes. "Right now, there's someone I'm way more concerned about."

Hisao glanced to Rena. "And who would that be?" he asked her. "I'm concerned about you…"

"Mi-chan, of course!" Rena blurted out, surprising both Keiichi and Hisao. "Didn't you see her back there, didn't you? She looked so terrible! I mean, she was still beautiful Mi-chan, but she had horns and everything. She wasn't acting like herself at all!"

Keiichi nodded as the painful of the demonic Mion came to his minds. He remembered her glowing green eyes staring hatefully at Rena, her fangs barred. It killed him inside to see two of his friends in such a horrible fight. He couldn't stand it. "Yeah, I'm worried about her as well. I don't quite understand what happened to her. I mean, why did she suddenly gain those horns and claws and stuff? She didn't have those before."

Hisao let out a large sigh as he gazed into the night. He should probably tell them now, shouldn't he? Even if Etsuko found out, he would just have to stand up to her. He couldn't allow her grasp to bind him any longer. "Hey guys, I need to tell you something very important. So can you all listen to me for a moment?" he requested.

Both of the teenagers turned to look at him with curious expressions, giving him their full attention. Taking a deep breath, Hisao prepared himself to explain everything. He thought over his words a little, making sure that he remembered every single detail. "Etsuko has been planning this for a really long time. She is the one who forced Mion to turn into the way she is right now," he began to explain.

"Wait a moment!" cried Keiichi in disbelief. "How in the world did she get her to do THAT?"

Hisao held his hand up, telling him silently to keep quiet. "I'll explain everything in a few moments, just let me get through the first part first. Now, have you guys ever heard of a murder that happened here seven years ago in which a little boy was clawed to death?" he asked them, glancing at them from side to side. He felt a little nervous, but he knew on the inside that he had to be brave. Happiness was just in reach.

"Oh yeah!" yelled Keiichi. "I remember Ooishi-san telling me a little about that before!"

Rena looked down, shaking her head. "I moved away from here when I was seven, so I wasn't there. I haven't heard of such a thing, either," she murmured.

Hisao breathed. "Well, there was a case in which a very young boy was attacked and died on the night of the Watanagashi seven years ago. He was all scratched up. It looked as if someone had attacked him with a whole bunch of knives. There were also several other people at the scene of the crime around the same age as him. They had similar wounds. One of the people there died from blood loss while the other two survived and moved on," he explained, carefully making sure not to miss as single detail. "Well, one of the surviving people was Etsuko."

Rena's eyes grew wide. "Wait a moment, she lived in the village before, before?" she spoke.

Hisao nodded. "Yeah, she did. She moved away after the incident, though. The girl who died of blood loss was her best friend, Bunko. And the boy who died at the scene was a boy who she was in love with named Hajime. They had confessed their feelings to each other on the night of the Watanagashi festival a few years ago."

Keiichi blinked a few times. "So, did they ever figure out the culprit? Ooishi told me that they couldn't find one since they assumed it was an animal. Was it an animal or was it a human?" he asked the boy.

Hisao looked down, his black hair shadowing his purple eyes. He didn't know how he should break the news to him. "Well, yes and no. The people who were attacked know who the culprit is, but they all refused to tell the police. You see, they were attacked by an animal… sort of. Well, a human… also. In a way," he spoke, sounding rather awkward.

Rena titled her head to the side. "What do you mean by that, Hisao-kun?" she spoke, a slight fear in her tone. A part of her mind had already realized the answer, though she refused to admit what she thought. She didn't want to think of something like that.

Hisao clenched his teeth and balled his fists. "…You see how Mion looked like before? Well yeah, she killed them in that form. She… she forgot about it after, though."

Keiichi felt his heart drop. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He felt as if the news had reached out and strangled him, preventing him from breathing. Mion had killed someone in the past. And she hadn't killed just anyone. She had killed a bunch of little kids when she was little herself. "Mi…Mion," was all Keiichi could find the strength to speak.

Hisao felt terrible when he saw Keiichi's expression. It really hurt him to see his friend in so much shock. "Etsuko never got over Hajime. She still loves him to this day, even though he is long dead. She has been planning to get revenge for his death ever since the day he died. You see… Mion is a demon. Demons transform when their insanity drops. Etsuko read about this from a book in the Saiguden and decided to manipulate Mion in multiple ways to get her to transform so she could remember and then she could kill her," he said.

Keiichi shifted uncomfortably. All these things made him feel angry. How could he have not noticed that Etsuko was trying to do this? If he could, he would go back in time and stop her from doing such a thing. She had never been his friend. She had simply wanted to kill their leader from the beginning. "Wait, how did she manipulate her? I don't know how you could provoke Mion until she turns insane. There's nothing really that can provoke her easily," he pointed out.

Hisao hesitated a little bit. "Well… that is… she used a weak spot… something very special to her… to provoke her," he murmured.

Keiichi titled his head to the side. _Something… special to her?_ "And what would that be?"

Hisao looked down, kicking some dirt on the ground uncomfortably. "That is…" he paused, slowly looking up. Then, he lifted his index finger and pointed straight at Keiichi. "You."

Instantly, Keiichi fell backwards out of pure shock. Then he pushed himself back up on his butt almost immediately, his sapphire blue eyes wide. "E-Excuse me?" he spoke. "Me? Me? _Me?_ Y-You said it was something very special to her! I-I!" he couldn't even finish his own thoughts. He glanced back and forth from a smiling Rena to Hisao who stood there with an awkward expression on his face, not sure what to think.

Slowly, Hisao nodded, not taking his finger away. "Y-Yes, you. When she moved back here, she instantly noticed that you were someone special to her. So she decided to use that as something to manipulate. So she pretended to be in love with you. You noticed how she always acted a little clingy around you? That's because she wanted to make her jealous. S-She doesn't actually like you… she likes Hajime, still. She pretended to be in love with you to make her mad."

Keiichi looked rather confused. "Wait, why would pretending to be in love with me make her mad?" she asked. Rena frowned, sighing a little. Hisao looked away, not sure what to say.

"Uh… because she likes you," answered Hisao, finding the romantic talk a little uncomfortable. He felt odd talking about other people's affections. He gave Rena a quick glance, blushing a little. He still had his own feelings for Rena, after all.

"SHE LIKES ME?" cried Keiichi.

Rena nodded her head. "That's what I've been telling you all this time! Mi-chan really, really, really loves you! She turned into her demonic form just because she wanted to eliminate the people who she thought were getting in the way of her love for you!" she said, finally a little glad that Keiichi was coming to his senses.

Keiichi looked to Hisao for confirmation. He nodded his head.

Dumbstruck, Keiichi opened his mouth wide. He had no idea that Mion had been in love with him all this time. And all this time, he had liked her, too! Then, he realized something. Rika had been trying to get him to confess to prevent the situation. If she knew that he liked her back, she would have never gotten to this point of insanity. He hit himself on the head, suddenly feeling very annoyed with himself. "This is my fault," he muttered. "If I had told her that I liked her back… this would have never happened…"

"It's not too late," Hisao spoke. "Go tell her right now."

Rena nodded. "Yeah, why don't you go tell her and see how she responds? I'm sure she'll be overjoyed."

Keiichi glanced back and forth, not sure what to do. Should he really just go and confess? Would it really fix anything at all? "But wait a moment. When we were in the cave, she was trying to kill Rena. Do you know why?" he asked the boy.

Hisao slowly nodded. "Etsuko is using Rena-chan. She… she's trying to…" he found it rather hard for him to say those last words. After trying to spit them out a few times, he closed his mouth and took a few moments to relax himself. "Well… what she's doing is tricking Mion into thinking Rena likes Keiichi so that she is also after Rena and not just her."

Rena looked startled at the idea. She was being used as bait to reel the target in and kill her. "So then… Mi-chan wants to kill me," she whispered, sounding a little heartbroken at the idea. Her best friend wanted to kill her. "S-…"

Keiichi gulped. "So then… Mion is going to go after Rena…" he murmured.

"Yeah," Hisao answered. "And there's no way to stop her. A demon only returns to their original form once their sanity returns."

Silence fell. Rena looked at the ground. There was nothing that she could do in this case. If she went near Mion, she would surely tried to kill her. A single tear welled up in her eye and trickled down her cheek at the idea of her best friend betraying her. "She… Mion wants to kill me. My best friend… wants to…"

Keiichi looked at her with grief in his eyes. "Don't worry, Rena. We'll get Mion back to normal… somehow," Keiichi said. He was speaking words of comfort he did not even have confidence in. Turning Mion back might be impossible for all he knew.

Hisao felt his heart burst into a thousand pieces. He hated seeing Rena so upset. Feeling rather terrible, he walked over to her. Rena gave him a look, a small amount of happiness shining in her eyes from seeing him. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her and embraced her tightly. "Don't worry… I… I will think of something. I promise!" he spoke, his voice barely above a whisper. "I won't let Mion hurt you… I won't ever let her hurt you…"

"She's not Mion," whispered Rena. "She's not the Mion I know. She's a bloodthirsty demon being mind controlled by Etsu-chan," she said. A few more tears splattered onto the dirt blow, creating small stains. Slowly, she lifted her head up, her face full of bravery despite her sorrow. "Everything she is thinking is just what Etsuko put into her mind. She made her think all these things. An envious, savage demon who cares about no one besides the one person she loves… that's not Mion!"

Hisao nodded in agreement. "Etsuko changes people into someone they aren't. I… I know that very well, too," he spoke, his fists clenched. He seemed upset for some reason, almost melancholic. "So we can't allow Mion to stay like this! We gotta save her… somehow!"

Suddenly, he felt a burst of energy and confidence flow throughout his body, giving him a new strength. He looked up, smiling widely. There was no reason to be afraid of anything anymore. Right now, he would become a true member of the club. He needed to show that he wasn't just a weak kid controlled by his sister. He felt the strength to change everything burning throughout him, his courage stronger than ever.

"Yeah!" cried Keiichi. "I'm sure I can bring Mion back to normal… somehow! But we're gonna need tons of help!" Keiichi glanced over towards the two of them with a rather ferocious look on his face, one that burned with confidence and leadership. "Rena, Hisao! We're going to go back to Hinamizawa and we're going to gather up the rest of the club! Then, we're going to change Mion back to normal! We'll all work together, and surely we can do it!"

Hisao grinned. "Yes! You lead, Maeb-… Keiichi!"

Just as the two of them were about to leave, however, a voice stopped them.

"Hold up, you two!" cried Rena.

Hisao and Keiichi whipped around to look at the girl, puzzled as to why they had been stopped. "What is it, Rena?" Keiichi asked, fully turning his body around.

Rena smiled. "I am going to correct our plan. Hisao and I will return to Hinamizawa to get Shi-chan, Satoko-chan, and Rika-chan," she said. Then, she turned to focus on Keiichi. "As for you, you're going to go back there. You have someone back there who needs you right now," she said, pointing in the direction of the cave. "She's waiting for you back there. And I'm sure with a little talking; you'll be able to fix her up in no time! You might not even need us!"

Keiichi glanced to Hisao to make sure the plan was okay with him. He nodded, smiling. "Go for it, Keiichi. Tell her how you feel and make us proud!" he said, winking at him.

"Alright. Then I'll see you two in a little bit!" he said, giving them one last smile before disappearing into the trees.

Rena and Hisao, now alone, began to walk further into the forest. They knew it would be a long time until they got home, but they had to stay awake for as long as they could. Mion's safety was more important to them than sleep. They just hoped that when they got back, the others were still awake.

"I think we should hurry," Hisao spoke.

Rena nodded. "Yeah. It would be pretty bad trying to get Shi-chan up if she has already fallen asleep."

The two of them focused on following the bloody footsteps back through the forest. They needed to go fast if they were to make it back in time. It was already very late, though they didn't quite know what time it was. Rena focused on glancing around the area while Hisao looked down at the footsteps, following them carefully. Getting lost in a dark forest while a friend was waiting on them was the last thing they wanted to happen at that moment.

"Hey, Rena," Hisao spoke once they had passed the camping grounds.

"What is it?" she asked as she glanced about the hill.

"Can you tell me something?" he said while making sure that he didn't lose track of the footsteps. She nodded. "Why didn't you try to fight Mion back?"

Rena looked a little surprised by the question, though that expression of shock soon faded away. "I didn't want to hurt her. I know she wasn't acting like Mi-chan, and she really isn't Mi-chan, but hurting her is still hurting Mi-chan. I… didn't want to do something like that to my friend."

Hisao nodded slowly. "Yeah, she's acting a little odd, though she's still Mion. It's all Etsuko's fault. I should have told you all before. We could have stopped this all from happening!" he cried out, feeling a little frustrated with himself.

"Don't blame yourself," Rena said, "Etsu-chan manipulated you into not saying those things, it's just like how she manipulated Mi-chan into thinking the way she is now."

It was true, wasn't it? Hisao was someone who was created and molded by Etsuko. He was someone that was created to listen to whatever she had to say and obey every single one of her orders whether or not he wanted to. He was created to not have his own life and to spend his whole life serving his so-called sister. That was Ohba Hisao. "Yeah, Etsuko… she's changed me. Before I lost my memories… I was someone. I wasn't this Ohba Hisao that she created. I was someone else. I had my own life and I had my own way of living it. I controlled my actions. I wasn't just her slave," he said, feeling a darkening feeling looming over him at the memory of Etsuko. He hadn't really talked to her in a while, nor had he really seen her recently. For a moment, Hisao wondered where she was, but then he shook that thought out. Who cares where she was? He had friends now who were more important to him than her.

Rena nodded. "Mi-chan said that you're not really her brother, right? She said something about you having a different name," she recalled.

"Yeah," Hisao responded, his mind slowly drifting away from the tracks on the ground. "…Ryuga Ryota."

Rena giggled a little. "Rena likes that name. She thinks it's a fun one. Ryuga Ryota, Ryuga Ryota, Ryuga Ryota," she repeated over and over again. "Ryuga sounds like Ryuuguu kind of."

Hisao smiled. "Yeah, it really does."

Hisao did like the sound of the name. It made him feel a little warm on the inside, knowing that he was someone before Etsuko came in and changed that someone. Ryuga Ryota was a different person than Ohba Hisao. Ryuga Ryota was a boy who had friends, a boy who was brave and knew how to live his like. Ohba Hisao was a shy, weak boy who was nothing but someone who was controlled by Etsuko.

"Hey, Rena. Can you… do me a favor?" asked Hisao, his eyes scanning the trail of footprints as they flew beneath his running feet.

Rena looked a little curious, but she nodded her head. "Sure, I'll do you a favor. What is it?"

Hisao looked a little hesitant at first, though he soon got over that. "Would you… would you call me Ryota from now on? I want to be someone else, not the person who was created by Etsuko," he requested, his voice slightly shaky.

Rena smiled at him. "Of course, Ryota-kun!"

Hisao shuddered a little at the sound of the new name. He felt a little warm inside. It was as if he had been reborn as someone completely different. He felt like he had finally pushed out of the barrier Etsuko had set from him, preventing him from becoming someone he wanted to be.

He took a little moment to look up into the stars and the moon above him, admiring it. The world seemed so much better to him now that he had finally cast of the protective shield that was Etsuko's rule. It seemed nice to him. Taking a deep breath, he let his face curl into a smile. "Watch out, because I'm back," Ryota spoke to the vast night above him.

~~~~X~~~~

A single figured walked alone down the dusty paths of Hinamizawa. She was surrounded by a bunch of elders walking home from the trip to the Watanagashi. She felt a little odd. Normally, she'd walk home with her sister. Now, she was all alone.

"I wonder where the others went," Shion murmured as she glanced about the crowd desperately for a sign of her friends. "I don't see them at all. I guess they all went home?"

With a sigh, she walked up to the doors of the Sonozaki Manor and stepped inside. She was surprised to find that the room was completely dark. Raising an eyebrow, she flicked on the light switched and glanced about the front room. She kicked off her shoes, finding it a little strange that there were no pairs of shoes sitting in the front like usual. Shrugging, she walked down the hallway and began to glance about the rooms.

Every single light was off save for the one she had just turned on. She crossed her arms, looking about for a sign of life. Finding none, she sighed and continued to walk on. Without much thought, she slid the door to her room open and stepped inside.

"Ah, what a day," she muttered as she fumbled around for the light switch. Once her hand had found it, she flicked the lights on. As usual, there were two futons set out on the ground. That wasn't what she had found odd, though. Mion's clothes were scattered about floor ground for some odd reason. "Oh Onee. You really need to learn how to clean up," sighed Shion as she began to pick the clothing up. She folded a shirt before stuffing it back into the open wardrobe. "Though it is odd that you would just leave all your stuff out. I don't recall you getting changed before Watanagashi."

After she had finished, Shion shut the drawer closed and walked out of the door. Perhaps Mion was still outside with the elders? Deciding that was probably the best place to look, Shion walked down the hallway once again, glancing at the portraits that lined the walls. She pulled her shoes back on before she exited out the door once again.

"Ah, what a wonderful Watanagashi that was," a very old man walking down the path in front of her house said. "I have never enjoyed myself so much before."

An equally old woman nodded. "Ohoho, I must agree with you. It appears as if the youngsters were having a very good time themselves! It is wonderful seeing the children so cheery. They are just adorable, now aren't they?" she commented.

The old man smiled. "Oh yes, I must say Rika-chama was looking as wonderful as usual. Her performance was simply marvelous as well! It reminds me a lot of her mother when she was her age," he agreed.

"That Sonozaki girl seemed to be enjoying herself as well, though I haven't seen her since the Cotton Drifting Ceremony," spoke the old woman. Shion titled her head to the side, assuming that they were referring to her twin and not her.

The old man nodded. "Oh yes, I asked if anyone else had seen her and no one else seemed to have. I wonder where she went off to?"

Shion looked rather alarmed. She suddenly burst out running, glancing down the paths desperately for her sister. Where was she? Now that she thought about it, she really had disappeared after the ceremony. "Mion!" she called out to the paths. "Where are you? Can you hear me?" Suddenly, she halted in the middle of the path, using her time to catch her breath as she glanced about the area once again.

A few elders turned to look at her. They frowned a little at the mention of Mion's name, hearing her loud and clear. "Shion-san, you haven't seen your sister either? That is odd. I would assume that you of all people would know who she is," an old woman said to her. Shion turned around to look at her straight in the eye.

"None of you have seen my sister?" she asked.

All of them shook their heads and apologized. Shion was beginning to grow a little afraid. She once again began to run, looking everywhere as she did. It wasn't like her sister to just disappear. When she came to the end of the path, her heart lurched. None of the elders she had asked had seen Mion since the Cotton Drifting Ceremony. Sweat began to trickle down her face as she felt her fear escalate. Where could she be?

Suddenly, a she felt a small figure bump into her. She looked rather startled at the sudden contact, but shook that off and looked down. "Rika-san!" she cried out.

Rika rubbed her head, feeling a little stupid for having not noticed Shion. "Mii, hello there," she greeted her, bowing her head.

A pang of hope grew inside of her. Perhaps Rika knew where her sister was. If anyone knew, it would be her or another club member. "Hey, Rika, have you seen Onee? I need to know, now!" she cried out, placing her arms on Rika's shoulders.

Much to her dismay, Rika slowly shook her head. "I haven't seen her," she muttered. Shion felt all sense of hope die out, leaving her feeling hollow. "But I can tell you that something terrible is going to happen to your sister tonight. I don't know what, but something bad is going to happen," she spoke.

This was not the news that Shion wanted to hear. Every sense of fear she had was now at its highest level. What if her sister had been killed or something worse? She felt her heart beat fast with terror. She couldn't bare the thought of losing her identical twin. It would just be too much for her. "Rika! You have to help me find her!" cried Shion, her grip on her shoulders tightening. "Help me! HELP ME!"  
Rika winced at the tight grip. "I will help you as soon as you stop squeezing me," she spoke, her voice tattered with slight pain.

Shion released Rika, causing her to stumble back and rub her aching shoulders. "I think she might be in the woods. Let's just go grab Satoko and then we can go look," she said.

Shion nodded her head. "Alright. Let's go."

~~~~X~~~~

**Crimso's Corner**

**Once again, it is almost midnight. I was going to go to sleep thirty minutes ago but I figured I'd finish this. Also, I once again made a few adjustments to this chapter. It was supposed to be tons longer and TONS different. However, I decided to change that. Next chapter will be rather intense if things go as I plan them to. Who knows, I might change what I want for my next chapter. I hopefully won't, though. This fanfic is probably going to be... 35 chapters? Something like that.**

**So right now, I want to address something that came up last chapter. It was about Rena. I went back and fixed what you told me to. Honestly, thank you for telling me. That really brought me back to reality. Rena is a character I'm not so keen on in terms of personality. I'm more into the other characters, so she doesn't seem to be on spot all the time. So I'd like to give a special thank you to the two people who pointed this out. So thank you to Sentinel Proxima and ****xXemmaliesXx! I hope I got her a little more in character this time around. I'll pay a little more attention from now on even though I'm still sort of rushing through these chapters. I really shouldn't be, huh?**

**Please review! Reviewers can have a Ryota/Hisao plushie to celebrate his change in this chapter! I wanted to make Ryota into a character who started out as someone who was controlled and shy, someone who was unable to fight for themselves, and slowly change him into a strong person. Have I done well with him? That's something I really want to know, so if you'd go ahead and put that in your review, I'd be really happy. **

**And with that, I'm gone. I need to sleep since I have my final math test tomorrow.**

**~Crimso**


	32. Chapter 31: Hunger

**Hi there. I'm in Math class. It seems I always start a new chapter in class, huh? We just finished our last test of the year. It was easy. Yay! Well thanks for reading, everyone! We're getting near our conclusion, so hang on!**

**~31~**

~~~~X~~~~

Keiichi scampered throughout the woods, looking about the trees as he did so. It was very hard for him to see in the dark. He narrowed his eyes, making sure that he didn't miss the cave. He needed to save Mion. That was why he was here so late in the night. He didn't care if he had to stay up until the dawn rose. He'd stay here forever until he got Mion to turn back to normal. He nearly bumped into a tree as he ran through the trees, grumbling a little bit at his mistake. He thought a little about Ryota and Rena, hoping that they were both okay. Had they gotten to Hinamizawa yet?

He suddenly halted as he came to the great cave embedded in the side of a cliff. He froze a little bit at the sight of the cave, wondering what kind of state Mion was in. A part of him didn't want to see her again after seeing how terrifying she was an hour ago. However, a part of him knew that he had to. She was still Mion, human or demon. Taking a deep breath, he took a step into the darkness. Once he was in there, he really couldn't see anything. He stood there for a bit, waiting for his eyes to adjust to such extreme darkness. After a few moments, however, he walked on, glancing about the area. He wondered to himself where Mion was. Had she already left the cave in search of Rena? He didn't know. Sighing, he placed his hands on his hips as he tried to see through the dark hue encasing the cave.

He heard her before he saw her. Soft crying could be heard from the back of the cave, along with several whimpers. He took another deep breath as he took a few more steps forward, glancing towards the ground. There, he could just barely make out the figure of a female. There was a green glow coming from her eyes, though suppressed by her hands covering. Bits of green still shone through the space between her fingers. Slowly, he crouched down, giving the girl a good look.

He once again felt himself becoming very uncomfortable when he caught sight of those two, demonic horns growing from the top of her head. He covered his mouth, trying not to gasp. He then scanned her figure, finding that she was curled up in a ball. A small whimper was emitted from her mouth before she shifted her position uncomfortably. Keiichi was hesitant to say anything, for he was scared to see her fully again. She had looked terrifying before. _No, Maebara Keiichi. She's your friend. And besides, she's in love with you. She won't hurt you._

Slowly, he reached out one of his hands and placed it gently on her body. He blushed a little as he felt his hand come in contact with her warm skin. It was a wonderful sensation, even if she had been changed. A hand slipped away from her eyes ever so slightly, revealing that sickly green glow. Keiichi gulped a little, feeling himself shaken by the sight of those horrifying eyes. But then, he forced a warm smile on his face. The hands covering both of her eyes slide away as she pulled herself up. For a few moments, all she did was stare at him.

Then, after a few seconds, she was no longer silent. "Kei-chan! KEI-CHAN!" she cried out as she suddenly embraced him tightly. She burred her head into his shoulder, sobbing wildly. His hands winded around her and pulled her close, allowing her to use his body for comfort and support. He frowned a little as her claws buried into his back ever so slightly, causing him to feel brief pain. He decided to ignore it, however. There was something more important.

"Mion," he whispered as he used a hand to stroke her back, giving her a warm feeling. He couldn't think of anything else to say as he gazed down on her. He felt her shudder from the feel, though she enjoyed it. She shifted slightly in his hold, allowing herself to grow more comfortable with the feel of his body against hers.

Slowly, Mion raised her head, her glowing eyes filled with tears. "I'm hideous! Just look at me! Aren't you afraid?" she cried out.

Keiichi looked down into those eyes. Despite how horrifying they were, he blushed at the feel of their eyes meeting. Slowly, he gazed down her body. She was not hideous. To him, she was still beautiful. Horrifying, yes, but not she was certainly not ugly. Slowly, he smiled and shook his head. "No. You're beautiful, Mion," he answered as he caressed her. "While you might be a little scary to see, no, you're not ugly. It's just shocking to see someone humanlike with demonic features. But after the shock of that… you… you're not too scary anymore," he spoke softly to her, though not knowing if he really believed in his own words.

Somehow, through her tears and her strong sorrow, Mion managed to smile. "Do you really believe that, Kei-chan?" she whispered. "Even if I have these horns?"

Keiichi looked at the two horns that curved over her head. They were a pure white color, almost like snow. Slowly, Keiichi ran a finger down the length of her right horn. Like any animal's horn, it was hard yet smooth. "I… I like your horns. I don't mind them. I actually think they're… they're…" he couldn't spit that last words out. He wanted to tell her they were beautiful, but he was still feeling a little unsure about that. "…They're beautiful…" he managed to speak out, though he himself couldn't tell if he was lying or not.

Mion's smile grew wider. "Kei-chan," she spoke. She removed one of her hands from his back and cupped his cheek, finding his presence comforting. Keiichi felt the tips of her claws graze against his skin, though they didn't cut. Keiichi smiled, loving her touch.

He looked down into her eyes once again, smiling. Rena had said that the demon they had met in the cave wasn't Mion in any shape or form. But now, he found himself thinking that over. The demon in front of him was most certainly Mion. However, the demon that had attacked them wasn't Mion. It was as if she had some kind of split personality from transforming partially. There was one Mion who still retained a sense of humanity, and there was one Mion who was fully a demon in every single way.

He held her for a few moments, admiring how beautiful she was despite how twisted she looked. She smiled warmly as she burred herself into his embrace, enjoying the feel of his muscular chest. Keiichi grinned as he held her tighter, making sure that he didn't accidently drop or anything. That would certainly be a mood-killer, and they had had too many mood-killers to deal with.

Suddenly, however, Mion pulled herself away. "I'm hungry," she complained.

Keiichi nodded as he stood up. "Do you want to go grab something to eat? I think I saw some fruit trees close by. We can get some fruits from there," he suggested.

Mion nodded as she too stood up on shaky legs. She stumbled a little as she tried to walk forward, but Keiichi quickly grabbed her before she could fall. Mion blushed, pushing herself back up. She looked away, embarrassed. Keiichi just smiled, however. He knew that she was probably not used to being on her two legs since she had been lying down for about an hour and a half. The two of them walked out of the cave, looking about the area. Mion's eyes ripped through the darkness, which made Keiichi hope that no one else was around. If they saw Mion, surely she'd attack them.

Mion looked about, trying to find the fruit trees that Keiichi had been talking about. She placed her hands on her hips when she found that she was unable to see any. "Kei-chan, where did you see them, exactly?" she asked him as she looked around some more, even glancing in a bunch of bushes to see if there were any berries. She parted the thick leaves with her fingers, but was unable to find any berries no matter how far she peered into it.

Keiichi shook his head. "I don't quite remember, but I think it was near here."

Taking a quick look around him and finding none, he decided that he'd look elsewhere. Without thinking, he slipped Mion's hand into his own. She gasped, looking at him with surprise. Then, she slipped her fingers through the gaps between his fingers, intertwining them. He felt demonic claws prick his skin, but he tried not to pay much attention to that. He looked down at their hands, finding the sight of a normal human hand and a beastly one touching so intimately a little odd. Then, he looked back up at a smiling Mion. She was blushing quite a bit, enjoying the contact between them.

Keiichi tugged her hand, telling her silently to start walking. She obeyed him without any question. The two of them walked down the forest, looking out for any kind of fruit Mion could eat. Keiichi was also feeling a little hungry himself, as he hadn't eaten too much at the festival. Mion glanced about the area rather quickly, not picking up any trace of food for her to eat. Her stomach rumbled, causing her to frown.

"Don't worry," muttered Keiichi, "I don't think it was much further away."

Soon enough, they came to a rather large tree full with a bunch of fruit. Keiichi looked up, spotting a fruit that was hanging on branch lower to the ground than the others. He jumped up in the air, grasping for the fruit. However, he missed and ended up falling back on the floor. Grumbling, he attempted to grab it once again, only to fail. He let out a large sigh as he slowly approached the trunk, grasping onto it. He wrapped himself around the trunk, inching upwards. Mion blinked in confusion as she watched him, finding the sight rather funny.

However, after getting hardly anywhere, he slid down the tree and fell on his butt. With another sigh, he abandoned the idea of climbing up a tree. He turned around and walked towards a nearby rock, getting on top of it. With a deep breath, he jumped off, lunging for the fruit hanging from the branch. The tips of his fingers brushed the smooth surface of the fruit, just barely missing it. He fell down on his face, grumbling.

He placed his hands on his hips, trying to figure out how he should try to get the fruit next. With a deep breath, he jumped up, reaching for the branch. His hands successfully wrapped around it, causing him to grow a little happy with the success. He slowly inched his way along the branch, trying to get closer to the fruit. He needed to do this for Mion. He couldn't fail and have her starve! As soon as he was close enough, he made the mistake of removing one hand from the tree to grab the fruit. This caused him to fall, only to be stopped by his other hand. However, his fingers were slowly slipping away from the wood. Keiichi flailed desperately as he tried to grab back on to the branch to no avail. Finally, gravity won the battle and Keiichi fell right down to the ground. Mion glanced at him, wondering to herself if he was okay. Keiichi blushed slightly, embarrassed that he had failed so miserably in front of a girl. She would never live this down.

"Gah! Stupid tree!" he yelled out. He stood up, kicking the tree out of frustration. Much to his surprise, the fruit he had been trying to grab fell from the impact, falling right into his hands. Keiichi blinked in surprise.

Suddenly, a whole bunch of fruit on the tree became loose and fell down on top of him. He cried out in panic, trying to run away from the storm of fruit. Seeing an opportunity, Mion lunged forward and caught a fruit in her hand before the rest of them splattered to the ground.

Keiichi grumbled, his hair and jacket covered with fruit juice. "I hate myself, sometimes," he growled.

Much to his surprise, however, Mion simply laughed. "Oh come on, Kei-chan! That was really funny. You should have seen yourself!"

Keiichi couldn't help but smile a little. Just a few moments ago, she was so upset. Now, his actions had brought her emotions up once again. She was acting like herself now, and not like the demon that had tried to kill Rena an hour ago. She smiled back at him before looking down at the fruit in her hands. "How about if we go back and eat? You can have the one you caught," she said, pointing a claw at the fruit in his hands.

Keiichi shook his head. He walked up to her, looking at the fruit in her hands. Slowly, he took it away and replaced it with the fruit that he had caught. "I went through all that trouble just to feed you, so eat the one I got for you, okay?" he spoke, winking at her. Mion flustered a little and nodded, glancing down at the fruit in her hands. She touched its skin with her claws curiously.

"Well then, let's go back."

The two of them walked beside each other. Mion was still looking down at her fruit, unaware of Keiichi's eyes on her. She hadn't changed as much as he thought she did. Still, he wanted to change her back to normal. There was no way she could ever go back to Hinamizawa looking like she did. All the villagers would surely freak out if they saw a girl with fangs and claws, especially since everyone in the village knew who Mion was.

The two of them reached the cave once again and walked inside. Once they reached the back, they sat down across from each other. Keiichi smiled at her once before his attention focused on the fruit in his hand. His stomach growled as he looked at it, begging for him to eat it. Giving into his hunger, he raised the fruit up to his face and bit into it. The sweet juices flowed into his mouth, refreshing him. "Mmm, this is really good, Mion. Are you going to have a bite?" he asked her.

However, Mion had not taken one bite of the fruit. She was looking at it as if she was in an intense staring contest with it. Keiichi titled his head to the side, a little confused by her actions. Mion held a finger up and poked the fruit with one of her claws. A small amount of juice came out of the small hole, causing her to wince. She stared at it, a disgusted look on her face. "Uh… I'm not actually that hungry… for fruit."

Keiichi looked a little puzzled. "But aren't you hungry, Mion? You didn't seem to mind the idea of eating fruit before," he pointed out.

Mion herself looked a little puzzled. "I guess… I guess I'll try," she muttered, still gazing at the fruit. She brought the fruit to her mouth and bit down on it with her fangs. Juice flowed out from the two puncture marks and dripped onto her tongue. Mion's eyes widened as she instinctively spit out the juice. "I'm… not hungry for fruit… I want something else," she murmured as she gently touched her throat.

Keiichi tilted his head to the side. "For something… else?" he repeated.

Mion nodded. "It's strange… I don't know what I want… but I want something… else," she murmured.

Keiichi took the fruit away from her hands, staring at the two marks she had made with her fangs for a little bit. She was a demon, and demons didn't eat fruit. With her new transformation, she was slowly losing her human appetite. But what did demons eat, then?

Keiichi's whole body froze. Didn't they say that the demons of Onifaguchi were… man-eating demons? He stared at Mion, his eyes wide with the realization. She was still staring at nothing, trying to figure out what was going on with her. She touched her throat again as she felt a craving for an unknown food hit her and she gently rubbed it. Even if she didn't know, Keiichi knew all too well.

Mion was craving the taste of human flesh.

His whole body shook and he suddenly didn't feel all that comfortable being around her. If she realized, would she… eat him? He wasn't sure anymore. A hungry demon would probably eat anyone they wanted. Slowly, Keiichi reached a shaky hand out and touched Mion's hair, running trembling fingers through her locks of hair. "…C-Can you t-try eating that fruit?" he requested, though he knew that it was useless. There was no way she would ever be able to accept the fruit's taste. He held the fruit out for her with shaking hands. The fruit in his hand shook violently, causing Mion to tilt her head to the side.

Slowly, she reached out to grasp the fruit, taking it back to her. She gazed at it for a little bit, realizing that she really didn't want to taste that fruit again. She didn't understand why. She had loved the taste of fruit before. Desperate, Mion took another bite of the juicy fruit, causing sweet fluids to fill her mouth once again. Her eyes watered. She hated the taste of the fruit juice.

Keiichi's eyes watered as well for his friend's loss of humanity. The idea of her eating humans was just plain horrifying, and not to mention quite disturbing. Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, hoping it would soothe the demon within her that was hungry for human blood. "Don't worry," he whispered, "I won't let you do such a thing. I won't let you fall that far…"

Mion shifted about uncomfortably, unable to process what was going on around her. Her hunger was swallowing up her sanity. "I'm hungry… so hungry," she whispered. "So… hungry… hungry…"

Keiichi whimpered a little, holding her closer out of desperation. He needed to distract her, somehow. However, it didn't seem to be working. Mion kept mumbling about how hungry she was over and over again and didn't seem to notice that Keiichi was embracing her. Her mind was intent on figuring out what exactly she was craving. Keiichi began to grow extremely afraid, afraid that Mion would eat him. She wouldn't do such a thing… would she? But if she was really that hungry them… Keiichi gulped. "Don't eat me," murmured the brown-haired boy out of shear fear.

Mion's ears managed to pick up Keiichi's words. "Why would I eat you, Kei-chan?" she asked him, looking up into his eyes. "That's really gross. Who would eat huma-" Mion's word were cut off by her thoughts. She looked down at the ground, her glowing eyes still wide. "Humans," she whispered again. Suddenly, her pink tongue darted out and licked her lips subconsciously. Keiichi felt his heart rate increase at this action. His whole body began to shake, and as did Mion as he was holding her.

"S-So Mion… how about if you go to sleep or something like that?" Keiichi suggested, trying to get her mind off of her hunger for human flesh. "I mean, it must be pretty late! Ahaha…"

Mion snapped out of her thoughts as she glanced up at Keiichi, nodding. "Yeah, I think that's a good idea. I haven't really slept…"

Mion released herself from his hold and laid herself down on the ground. She curled up, holding her body close for comfort. Keiichi frowned at how lonely and sad she looked on the ground like that. She was scared of herself, of what she had become. Gently, he bent over and nuzzled her cheek, trying to comfort her. Mion looked up at him, blushing warmly. "Kei-chan," she whispered.

Keiichi lay down next to her, gazing into her glowing green eyes. If he brought her comfort, then he'd do anything for her. Mion continued to look in his eyes, losing herself in them. At a time like this, she really needed him. Without thinking, she pushed herself closer to him.

Keiichi felt a pair of hands wind around his back and two legs wrapping around his, causing him to gasp. Mion pressed her body against his as close as she could. Mion looked into his eyes, showing her desperation for his comfort. Keiichi instantly understood. Nodding, he grabbed onto her back, pulling her even closer. Mion let out small whimpers as she moved her head down, a little embarrassed.

Keiichi smiled at her, though his face was completely red. "Come on, let's get a little sleep," he spoke to her.

He was desperately trying to forget the fact that she was now a man-eating demon, though he was finding it hard. A part of him told him not to trust to her and run away, but he told that part of him that Mion was still Mion and that she needed him.

Mion nodded. Her grip on his body tightened as she nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck. Keiichi allowed her to do so, letting himself enjoy the feel of her body. She needed comfort and a good sleep. He would let her do anything to make her feel a little better.

And then, wrapped around the boy she loved, sleep finally claimed her.

~~~~X~~~~

"I don't understand why I have to be up this late," murmured a very sleepy Satoko, who was rubbing her eyes.

"It's an emergency," Rika said. "A real emergency."

Shion looked at both of the younger girls and nodded. "Yes, it is very important, Satoko, so please forgive us for waking you up. It's something we need to take care of right now," she explained.

The three girls were seated in Rika and Satoko's room. Shion and Rika had just woke up Satoko from her peaceful slumber, causing her to get rather annoyed. She had just gotten changed into her normal pink shirt and shorts and was now sitting on her futon, covers thrown everywhere from such a rude awakening. She yawned once again, trying to prevent herself from falling asleep right on the spot.

"All right, if you guys say so," she mumbled. "But I don't really understand… can you please tell me?"

Rika looked over to Shion and nodded her head. Then, her purple gaze returned to Satoko. "Well, Mion has gone missing. We last saw her at the Cotton Drifting Ceremony… but we haven't seen her since then. Shi here says she wasn't at home either…"

Satoko's eyes grew wide. "Do you think that she's okay?" she asked the two of them.

Shion looked down, shaking her head. "I don't know, Satoko, but I have this really, really bad feeling for some reason," she spoke, placing her hand on her chest. Something in her mind was telling her that her twin was in a horrible state, something that she believed to be true. It was a horrible feeling. "I… I just hope she hasn't gotten herself killed or anything like that."

Satoko jumped up. "Mi would never die!" she shrieked out. "That's impossible!"

Shion looked at her sadly. "Mion is human just like the rest of us, so she can die," she murmured. She glanced out at the window, gazing into the night. Somewhere, her sister was out there. She couldn't be dead, could she? "Although I don't think that… I don't think that sis would die that easily…"

Rika nodded her head. She knew all too well that the problem here was not that Mion could be dead. The problem was that Mion was possible off killing more people. She had already killed that Etsuko girl. It was highly possible that she had gone off and killed some other people. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen Rena in a while.

"Hey guys, have you seen Rena recently?" Rika asked her two friends.

Satoko shook her head. "Rena-san… the last time I saw her was after she set the cotton down the river. After that, she told us that she needed some time alone," she recalled.

Shion nodded her head. "Yeah, I think I remember her wandering off somewhere. Though that's rather strange…"

Rika let out a large sigh. She rubbed her temples, wondering to herself why things were suddenly growing so complicated. What if Mion had already killed Rena? She couldn't even bare the thought of such a thing happening. "Well, sitting around here and discussing their odd behavior isn't going to help us one bit," Rika spoke. "I think that we need to go out and search for her right now. Who knows what kind of trouble Mion has gotten herself into?"

The two others nodded their heads. With that, they ran down the stairs and burst out of the door. Satoko took a look around the forest, glancing about for any sign of Mion. She highly doubted that she would be standing right there, but it was worth a shot, anyways. Satoko sighed, placing her hands on her hips, finding no sign of the green-haired girl. "Well, she's certainly not here. Where do you think that she could be?" she asked the others.

Rika shook her head. "No one in Hinamizawa has seen her, so I wouldn't be surprised if she ran off somewhere in the forest or perhaps went into the mountains," she spoke, gazing into the thick forest ahead of her. They would be searching all night at this rate. All she knew was that Mion had been in the forest when she killed Etsuko. If she even was the person who killed her in the first place.

Shion took a glance into the forest as well, gazing into the darkness that enveloped it. "I feel as if she's in there somewhere… though I could be wrong. That's just what my senses tell me," she muttered.

"Well then!" cried Satoko, "let's not waste anymore time! We need to go find Mion-san, and fast! So let's go already!"

The three of them dashed into the dark forest, though they were finding it rather hard to see what was around them. They were all having a rather hard time not bumping into trees or cutting themselves on low branches. Hanyuu floated behind them, also scanning the area. Despite the fact that she could no longer be in her psychical form, she could still help them, even just a bit.

"Nope, not here," spoke Hanyuu as she glanced to the right. "And not here either," she finished, glancing over to the left side of her.

"It'll take a lot more effort than that to find her," murmured Rika under her breath so that only Hanyuu could hear her. "After all, who knows where she could be hiding?"

Shion had a rather panicked expression her face as she glanced from side to side. She looked almost as if she was afraid. She did not falter even once, masterfully avoiding the trees and low branches. A small bead of sweat trickled down her forehead. She was beginning to feel rather exhausted from the lack of sleep as well as the fact that she had been running for quite a bit.

Suddenly, Rika halted. "STOP! DON'T GO ANY FURTHER!" she cried out to the two others. Instantly, they both stopped, sending a bunch of dirt flying up in a cloud.

"Why did you want us to stop, Rika?" Satoko asked, her head tilted.

Shion crossed her arms over her chest. "Yeah, you seem to be rather desperate for us to stop. What happened?"

Rika glanced a little further into the trees, catching sight of a bundle of bushes. Etsuko's dead body was just up ahead, and she certainly didn't want the others to see such a horrible thing. It would only increase their worry. She whipped her head over in another direction, gazing into the distance. "The Saiguden is that way. How about if we go past the Saiguden and up the mountains?" she suggested, trying to come up with a path that didn't involve coming across Etsuko's horribly mutilated body.

Shion looked slightly puzzled, though she listened anyways. "Well, I guess we could head that way…"

The three club members changed directions, now heading towards the Saiguden. A pang of relief filled Rika, glad that she had avoided that body. She didn't need the others to become anymore worried. Besides, a sight like that would probably torment poor Satoko for the rest of her life. Sighing, she ran off, glancing to her side. The Saiguden wasn't too far away from here. When she had ran this path with Katashi, it had only taken her a few minutes.

"We'll just pass by," Rika said in between her breathing, "we don't need to go inside. After all, that's forbidden."

The two other club members nodded, but did not say anything. Satoko was intent on running, while Shion seemed to be contemplating several things. She nodded to them before she returned to looking ahead. After all, the last thing she wanted to do was trip over something and get badly injured.

"Saiguden!" cried Satoko as she glanced to her side. Rika stopped. She glanced to her right, catching sight of the great tool shrine, almost completely covered by thick trees. "I guess that means we're almost to the mountain!"

Hanyuu walked through the trees, peering into the area around the Saiguden. "Nope, I don't see anyone here. I think it'll be fine to run up the mountain. I doubt she's anywhere else in the woods," she spoke, turning back to Rika. Rika nodded at her friend, glancing over to the path in front of her. Just up there was the camping ground and then there was the meadow after that. She gulped a little, not knowing what to expect. If Mion were really up there, what kind of state would she be in? Would she have claws just like the demons of Onifaguchi did?

Suddenly, she heard a loud wail come from Satoko. She stumbled backwards, falling down on her butt. Shion looked at her curiously, offering a hand to her. However, Satoko didn't seem to notice it.

"Look at the ground!" she cried out.

Slowly, Rika looked downwards. There, in the green grass, were footprints of pure red. They created a trail through the forest and then finally up the mountain. Whose footsteps were these? Something in her mind told her that they belonged to Mion. She hoped to god that she was wrong, but she knew she was probably right.

Shion gulped. "Whose… whose are those?"

Satoko slowly shook her head. "I… I don't know," she responded. A moment of silence followed, in which Satoko looked like she was about to say something though she seemed to be a little hesitant. Finally, she decided to speak those words that were on everyone's mind. "…Maybe… maybe they're Mion-san's?"

All of them knew it, but none of them wanted to admit it. They were too scared. Shion seemed to have a look of worry and fear on her face as she held a hand to her chest. She was breathing heavily, her eyes wide. "Mion… no… no!"

Suddenly, Shion broke into a dash, startling Rika. Instantly, she ran after her, though stumbling quite a bit from the shock of such a sudden action.

"Hold up, Shi!" cried Rika as she continued her futile attempts to catch up. "Wait for us!"

Satoko jumped up to her feet, running after Shion as she let out desperate cries for her to stop and wait for her to catch up. She was staggering behind them both, having lost quite a bit of strength from shock. "S-Shion-san! Please slow down!" she called out to the girl far ahead of her. "Please, I'm falling behind both of you! I'm going to get lost!"

_CRASH!_

Shion's body suddenly rammed into something, causing her to fall backwards along with the thing that she had crashed into. She rubbed her head, grumbling a little about how much the collision had hurt. She then stood up, brushing her black skirt off. "Gosh, what the heck was that?" she growled. "Was that I tree? I swear to god, these trees…"

"W-Who's there?" cried the thing she had bumped into.

"…R-Rena?" Shion said, looking at the small, feminine figure in front of her. She too was clutching her head, struggling to stand up.

Rena smiled at her. "Oh, It's Shi-chan! Ryota-kun, look! I found Shi-chan!" she cried out, glancing to a figure encased by the night hue.

"Huh? Did you really?" spoke a rather soft, male voice. He narrowed his eyes, taking a look at the green-haired girl in front of him. For a moment, he looked startled. However, he then let out a rather large sigh of relief. "Ah, I thought you were Mion-san for a few moments. Sorry, Shion-san. Why are you over here?"

Shion's eyes went wide at the mention of her sister's name. Suddenly, without warning, she grabbed Ryota by the shoulders and looked at him in the eye. "Please, you have to tell me! Have you seen my sister?" she asked him. Ryota looked rather scared at first, though he quickly realized that the emotion in her eyes was not anger. It was fear for her sister's wellbeing.

Rena frowned. "Well, that's what we were coming to get you for," she said.

Finally, Rika caught up. She bent over, panting out of pure exhaustion. "I don't think I've ever ran so fast in my life," she spoke in between her breaths. "You were going really fast Shi…"

Rena's face lit up with pure delight as she noticed Rika. "Rika-chan! Good, we don't have to get you either! I wonder why you're up here, I wonder," she spoke, bending down so that she was Rika's height. She gave her a smile when her blue gaze met the purple eyes of Rika through her locks of blue hair draped over her face and figure. "Did… did you guys come up here to look for Mi-chan?" she guessed.

Surprise filled the young miko's expression. "How did you know?" she asked, straightening her figure.

Rena glanced over to Ryota, frowning. "Well… we were going to get you for the same reason," she spoke.

Suddenly, another figure appeared, crashing right into Rika's back as she did so. Rika jumped a little, surprised by the sudden contact. "Oh, it's just you, Satoko," she spoke, sounding relieved. "I thought that it was someone else…"

Ryota grinned. "See, Rena-chan? They're all here! We don't need to go any further than this!" he spoke, overjoyed. "Now guys, come with us! We need to take you somewhere…"

"Wait, Hisao, where are we going?" Rika called to him.

The boy suddenly froze in his tracks. Slowly, he looked over to her, a look of pain in his eyes. "Please don't call me that anymore. If you would, call me Ryota," he requested. "That goes for you too, Shion-san, Satoko-san. If you would please call me Ryota…"

Though Rika was a little confused, she didn't try to argue with him. There were more important things to deal with right now. "Okay then, Ryota, where are you taking us?" she asked once again, growing a little impatient.

Before he could answer, however, Shion stepped into the conversation. "Does it have to do with my sister?" she cried out. "Please tell me if you have seen her! I haven't seen her since the Cotton Drifting Ceremony and I'm really scared that she's dead or something worse! PLEASE TELL ME SHE'S NOT DEAD!" The look on her face was one of pure desperation and worry. Rika looked quite startled. She had never seen Shion this worried before.

Ryota frowned. "It… it's about Mion all right," he answered in a tone just above a whisper.

Fear filled Shion's expression. "She's dead, isn't she? Oh no, oh no! Tell me she's not dead, please tell me she's not dead!" she begged.

A sad smile appeared on Rena's face. She couldn't help but find the bonds of sisterhood heartwarming. However, a situation like this one wasn't one to smile at. "She's not dead, Shi-chan, so… don't worry about that," she answered.

A look of relief washed over Shion, though quickly faded away. "Then what is it? What's wrong with my sister? Please tell me!" she demanded.

"Shi-chan," Rena spoke. She walked up to her before gently placing her hand on her shoulder as if to comfort her. "Listen to me, okay? It's better if you just see for yourself. I don't want to… I don't want to tell you. It's… it's hard for me to talk about. So just follow us for now, okay?" she requested.

Slowly, Shion nodded, suppressing her urge to yell at her until she told her the answer. Rena turned back around, walking off into the dark woods ahead. Shion let out a gulp as she hesitantly followed them, all the way worrying for her sister's wellbeing. If she wasn't dead… then what had happened to her?

~~~~X~~~~

Keiichi didn't fall asleep; he simply stared at her as he slept. For some reason, he found himself unable to. He let out a small sigh as he gazed at her, her chest heaving against his as she breathed. At this moment, she seemed rather peaceful. If it weren't for the horns, Keiichi probably would have mistaken her for an angel. He was afraid to let her go. Who knows what kind of trouble she'd get herself into if he didn't watch her carefully?

Slowly, Mion began to wake up. Heavy eyelids opened, revealing two glowing green eyes. She smiled when she caught sight of him. "Kei-chan," she spoke.

Keiichi smiled back at her. "Hey, Mion," he greeted her. Mion stirred a little, but she did not remove her body from his.

"How long have I been sleeping for?" she asked, her eyes still partially closed from exhaustion.

"Oh, not that long," Keiichi responded, "maybe forty minutes?"

That was when Mion pried her body from his. She stretched her limbs before she yawned, showing off her white fangs. Keiichi winced a little at the sight of them, still not entirely used to them. She rubbed her eyes before she gave a glance to the entrance, realizing that it was still nighttime. "Urgh… still Watanagashi… huh…" she muttered.

Keiichi nodded slowly. "Yeah, it's still Watanagashi."

Mion frowned. "Oh."

Silence followed. Mion tried to wake herself up fully to no avail, still feeling a little tired. The amount of sleep she had received in the last twenty-four hours was very small. She stretched her arms up once again before standing up on her shaky legs. She stumbled a little, but this time she did not fall. She gave a glance to the entrance once again before she walked out.

Keiichi followed her curiously. Mion was a little shaky, but she was still able to walk fine, for the most part. She glanced up at the moon, staring at it for a little bit. The silver rays hit her, illuminating her figure. The sky was still dark, showing no sign of dawn. "Still very late," she grumbled. "I want it to be morning…"

"It shouldn't be too long," Keiichi commented as he followed the girl's gaze. "It shouldn't be too long…"

With that, the two of them returned to the cave. Mion sat down on the floor, yawning. Neither of them really knew what to do. Keiichi couldn't help but wonder where Rena and Ryota had gone. After all, it had been quite a bit since the two of them disappeared to find the others.

"Thank you for staying here with me, Kei-chan," Mion suddenly spoke out. "I'm… I'm glad that you're here. It makes me feel better," she said, blushing a little.

Keiichi smiled at her warmly. "Well… that's what friends are for, right?" he said. "I wouldn't ever abandon you, not even over something as big as… this," he spoke, glancing over to the two horns that grew out of her head. "So don't you worry about something like that, okay?"

Mion smiled back at him. "Thank you," she said once again.

Keiichi let out a sigh of relief. She seemed to have forgotten about her hunger from before, which eliminated the possibility of her suddenly trying to eat him. Right now, the person sitting next to her was the real Sonozaki Mion, not the demon Sonozaki Mion. Without thinking, he stuck out a hand and reached for Mion's cheek, gently touching it. She flustered at the contact, wondering why he had done such an action. Keiichi grinned at her reaction. This was just proof of her affections for him. _So Rena was right, huh? I guess she really does like me._

"Mion," he said. "I… I…"

Suddenly, Mion whipped around, her gaze focusing on the wall nearby. Her eyes suddenly grew wide with intense rage. She stood up, gazing at the wall. She looked horribly angry for some reason Keiichi couldn't point out. "You!" she cried out to the wall. "Why the heck are you here? When did you get here?"

Keiichi grew horribly confused. "Mion, why are you talking to the wall?" he asked her.

However, she didn't seem to hear him. Her eyes narrowed. "I thought I told you to go away! You're intruding on my time with Kei-chan!" she yelled. Then, she grew quiet. After a few seconds, however, she began to yell once again. "No! He's not yours! He's mine!" she screeched out.

Slowly, Keiichi stood up and walked over to Mion. He placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her expression to soften for a few moments. She looked over at him with the rage in her eyes now gone. "Mion, who are you talking to? No one is there," he asked her.

Mion's glowing green eyes narrowed. "Can't you tell?" she said to him before returning her gaze to the wall. Keiichi let his hand slip away from her, beginning to fear for her sanity. "What did you say!" she screamed at the wall, "Kei-chan may not love me, but I'm certainly not going to let you get your dirty little hands on him! No, I will not allow you to do such a thing! Oooh, when I'm done with you, Kei-chan will love me more than anything!"

She slashed at the wall with her claws, leaving a mark in the stone. She then turned around, lunging for the other wall. She crashed into the ground, causing her to get a little angrier. She stood up, growling. "Oh, you think you can just dodge all my attacks like that! Well then, you don't know me!" she cried out. Then, Mion lowered her head and charged at the nearby wall with her horns. They crashed against the surface, chipping the rock. She kept ramming into it over and over again, causing more and more rock to fall off.

"Mion! What the hell are you doing?" yelled Keiichi. "There's no one there! Snap out of it!"

Mion returned to her upright position. She let out a low growl, staring at the wall in front of her with pure hatred. She opened her mouth wide, showing off white fangs. Then, she bit down on the air in front of her, as if she was eating a slab of meat. At that moment, he wasn't sure what to think. _W-What the heck is wrong with her? What's going on? She was fine just a minute ago… and now…._

Suddenly, Mion glared at the entrance. "You're not getting away!" she screamed. Without warning, she took off, chasing after whatever she was imagining.

Keiichi stood up instantly. "Wait a moment, Mion! Stop this!" he yelled before he too took off into the night.

~~~~X~~~~

**Crimso's Corner**

**12:51:53 AM, 5/28/11. Uh, yeah. I felt like writing that there, sorry. In any case, I seem to be uploading really quickly, huh? I made a change of plans again, sorry. I'm having a little trouble calculating how much longer this fanfiction is going to be. Let's see… 1, 2, 3, 4, 5… I think. We'll have to see how it goes, though. That brings us to a total of 36 chapters + the epilogue. Don't count on that, though. I make a bunch of changes. In fact, I made so many changes from the start of this fanfiction that if I didn't make any, this story wouldn't be anything like it was now. Well, somewhat. I planed this story with the whole "Mion loves Keiichi, gets envious of Rena and Etsuko, turns into demon," idea, though that was really it. It was flat. This fanfiction has changed so much over time… wow. **

**School is almost over. We have another week. Well, only Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday really. Friday we have a field trip and we have off Monday. The work is piling up and stress increases! Yeah. English essay that we might never do, History test that I will spend 123423 hours studying for because my history teacher is super tough, some other English work… and some other English work. My teacher is still absent, which is sad because he is a cool guy.**

**Well, that's enough of that! I'd like reviews~! As you know, I tend to beat myself up over my writing, so it's always nice for me to read a review and know that I'm not half as bad as I think I am. Seriously, in my mind, I fail at everything. Reviewers can have another Mion plushie, this time with horns, claws, and fangs! Plus she is in her kimono and is SUPER huggable! D'aw. Wouldn't you just LOVE to hug Mion? I would like to hug Mion and Keiichi both. They would get freaked out, though. Ahaha...**

**~Crimso**


	33. Chapter 32: Twins

**NOOOOOOO. It's 2 AM and I just realized I only have three weeks until camp, which means three weeks to complete this fanfiction! I was going to go to bed, but I really, really, really need to write this. I can't leave this fanfiction unfinished, I can't! I CAN'T! *feels the pressure*  
~32~**

Mion rushed through the forests of Hinamizawa, her eyes focused on the area in front of her. Her eyes were full with the intent to kill as she sprinted forward, ignoring the branches that grazed her skin ever so slightly. She was too focused to care about such a small injury. "Damn you, Rena," the girl hissed as she continued her hot pursuit, "I'll kill you for that! I'll kill you this time, for sure!"

The girl was currently hunting down what she believed to be Rena. However, in truth, the Rena she had seen was just a hallucination. There wasn't any way that she would know that, though. To her, it was as if the girl had popped in out of nowhere just to ruin the moment she was sharing with Keiichi. She had taunted her, telling her words that the real Rena would never say. And now, Mion's desire to murder was stronger than ever before. She had never felt such a burning need to do something before.

"When I get my hands on you, Rena," spoke the green-haired girl as she continued to sprint through the forest, "I'll… I'll…"

She didn't finish her sentence. She found that she needed to think that over a little. What would she do when she found Rena? Well, she would kill her, obviously, but Mion felt the desire to do something else first. She needed to give her the most brutal death ever, to rip her to shreds and listen to her scream in agony as she tore away her life with her claws. That would teach her a lesson for getting to close to _her_ Keiichi.

Yet, another part of her wanted something else… that part of her being her stomach. That part of her wanted nothing more than to taste her flesh on her tongue and to lap up her thick, crimson blood. She could feel her stomach growl as she thought of Rena's human flesh. She did not even question the idea of eating a human nor did she find it disgusting in the slightest. She licked her lips as she pictured herself digging her fangs into human flesh. She could almost taste the blood on her tongue.

"…I'll eat you!" finished Mion. "I want to eat you! I want to bury my fangs into your flesh, I want to butcher you with my claws, I want to slurp up your internal organs like noodles!" she cried out to the night.

With her new intent in mind, she continued on her way through the forest. For some reason, she found that no matter how far she ran, she could not see Rena. Had she already gotten far away from her? Whatever the case was, Mion didn't want to stop. She needed to kill Rena, to taste her blood, and to be with Keiichi afterwards.

_Crash!_

Mion suddenly felt her body collide with someone else's. She fell backwards, cursing under her breath. She knew exactly who it was from the moment she came into contact with them. It was surely the body of that fiend, Rena. "Damn you, Rena," she growled, "I'll…"

She opened her eyes, expecting to meet the blue gaze of Rena. However, the eyes she was gazing into certainly didn't belong to Rena.

"…S…S-Shion?" she spoke, the disbelief in her tone obvious. She scooted back a little to observe her sister a little more. She seemed a little worn out, for some reason. Those eyes of Shion's suddenly grew wide as she took a look at her sister from a distance. Her whole face contorted into an expression of complete and utter horrification.

"GAAAAAAAAH!" screeched Shion as she pushed herself up against a tree. She was completely terrified of the demon in front of her who resembled her sister oh so much. She didn't want to believe that such a thing was truly her sister. "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU? WHO?" she demanded, her voice shaken. "TELL ME!"

Mion felt the flame igniting her desire to kill burn out at the sight of her sister so horrified by her appearance. The malice in her eyes died and was replaced by the warm eyes of the true Sonozaki Mion. Now, the feeling running throughout her was a feeling of sorrow. Her sister was the other person she didn't want to see in her demonic form.

"Shion, I'm Mion!" cried Mion. "Your twin sister, Sonozaki Mion! Don't you recognize me?"

Slowly, Shion shook her head. "No! You look like my sister, but you can't be her! You can't be!" she cried out. She pulled herself upwards on shaky legs, using the tree behind her to support herself. "You're not my sister! You're… you're a demon! That's what you are! And there's no way in hell that my sister is a demon! NO WAY!" she spoke.

Mion looked genuinely hurt. She hated seeing her twin sister act like this, especially towards her. Seeing her sister so afraid of her simply killed her inside.

Shion looked down at the floor, her bangs covering her eyes. "You… you really are Mion, aren't you?" she whispered.

Mion slowly nodded her head. "Yes," she replied, "I'm really Sonozaki Mion."

Shion lifted her head up, looking into the glowing green eyes of her identical twin. The fear in her eyes was replaced by sorrow, and Mion could sense a tear just waiting to form. "I knew it," she breathed. "I knew from the moment I saw you that you were Mion… I'm sorry. I didn't want to believe that you had… turned into… that."

Mion felt another pang of sorrow swell up in her stomach to the size of a basketball. "It's okay, Shion. I… I can understand… I really have turned hideous, haven't I?" she said, adding a slight chuckle at the end of her sentence.

Shion didn't want to agree with her. While she found the sight of her twin sister in such a demonic form horrifying, she found the thought that they were no longer identical even more horrifying. They were identical twins, weren't they? So why did Mion look like that? It didn't make any sense to her. She needed answers.

From behind a nearby tree, a group of children watched the two twins curiously. Rena's blue eyes were full with surprise when she saw Mion in such a state. It seemed as if she kept switching from the demon Mion to the human Mion that they all knew. She titled her head to the side, wondering if she should grab Shion and run. Despite how Mion looked now, it was possible that she could return to being that demon any second.

"Hey, guys?" Rena spoke. "Do you think we should grab Shion?"

Rika looked at the pair of green-haired girls curiously. Mion didn't seem to have any hostility in her eyes despite her appearance. She gave a glance to Satoko, who was currently struggling to see the scene in front of her. She shook her head slowly at her, telling her silently it would be better if she didn't see. If she saw what Mion looked like, she would surely be terrified and make a racket.

"No, don't do it," Ryota answered. "I think that Mion and Shion need sometime to talk with each other."

Rena nodded. For now, she'd just watch. If Mion tried to do anything to Shion, she would surely step in and save her.

Shion continued to stare into those glowing eyes, almost identical to her own save for the fact that hers were not illuminated by such a sickly color. She gulped, feeling a little fear from staring into them for so long. "Mion, how did this happen?" she found herself asking her. She couldn't hide her curiously any longer. She needed to know exactly what it was that was making her twin sister like this. "You… You look… like…"

"A demon," sighed Mion.

"Yeah, a demon," spoke Shion.

Mion bit her lip, drawing a little blood as the tip of one of her fangs dug into it. Shion let out a small gasp at the sight of such a thing, though she said nothing more. Mion thought over her words for a little bit. How was she to explain to Shion that they were not truly identical? Shion was human, and Mion was demon. There was a huge difference between the two. And yet, the difference was still small. Demon or human, they were still twins. "I… I am a demon, Shion. The legends of Onifaguchi were true," she told her softly.

Shion wasn't sure how to react to such a statement. A part of her want to scream out that it wasn't true, and that demons didn't exist. However, another part of her knew better. The horns on the top of her identical twin's head clearly indicated that she was telling the truth and that she was indeed a demon. Her heart melted, knowing that there was such a gap between her and her sister. How could such a thing happen? They were identical twins, the same in every single way. "Mion, does that make me a-"

"A demon? No, you're human," answered Mion.

Shion's eyes grew wide, though she felt a sense of relief at her humanity being confirmed. She wouldn't want to be a demon, that was for sure. However, there was something more important right now, and that was her sister's lack of humanity. Slowly, Shion walked up to her sister, placing a hand on her cheek gently when she reached her. Mion smiled at the warmth from her sister's hand, finding it comforting even though she was in such a horrifying state.

"I don't understand," Shion whispered. Her hand fell from her twin's cheek and slapped down on her side. Then, she moved to intertwine her ten fingers with her sister's, her fear growing a little at the sight of her twin's claws. "We were from the same egg. How could you be different from me?"

Mion frowned, holding her sister's hands tightly. She felt a pang of sadness in her stomach, hating the idea that they weren't identical. This hadn't been something she had considered when she was speaking with The Green-Eyed Demon about her humanity. "It was in the Tale of Sonozaki Ayame. I… I doubt you've ever read it. If there are twins born, one will be born a demon. That's why they always killed twins after birth," she explained to her.

Shion looked down, though her hands did not leave Mion's. "I've never read the Tale of Sonozaki Ayame, no," she whispered, glancing down at the ground. "I've never even heard of it before…"

"I'm not surprised," spoke Mion, also looking down at the ground. "I'll… I'll tell it to you someday, all right? As soon as I get out of this mess," she said, though she wasn't even sure if she was even going to get out of the mess she was in. She didn't even know how she was going to turn back to normal.

Shion nodded her head before returning her gaze to her sister. The demonic features she had growing out of her were giving off an ominous feel, though she tried to ignore it. She was still her twin, demon or human. None of them said anything, allowing the connection they made with their fingers to do all the bonding. That was enough for them to understand each other's feelings and for them to trust each other. They looked into each other's eyes, gazing at the person who was oh so identical to them.

Finally, Mion broke the silence. "I should have been killed when I was born," she whispered. "This would have never happened otherwise."

Shion's eyes grew wider at such a statement. She hated hearing her twin say such a thing. "That's not true!" she snapped, holding her sister's hands tighter. "It's not true, not true!"

Mion looked down at the ground, her bangs shadowing over her glowing eyes, though the green hue they were giving off was visible on her face. "It is true, Shion. If I were killed, then there would never be a demon like me in Hinamizawa. Everything would have been peaceful. Don't you know? Demons are evil creatures. They kill and eat humans. Things would just be better without me here," she spoke, her tone dark.

However, Shion only shook her head again, a sad smile spread across her face. "No, that's wrong. If should have been killed at birth, then I should have been killed at birth as well. We're identical twins. We were made together, we were born together, and so, we should die together as well," she spoke, looking directly into the eyes that were so similar to her own. "…Promise me?"

Slowly, Mion nodded. "It's a promise."

The time between the two twins didn't last much longer, however. Keiichi stumbled out from a nearby tree, rubbing a cut spot on his cheek as he did so. Both twins turned their gaze away from each other to look at the boy. Their hands fell away from the tight lock they were in and fell limp at their sides. "Kei-chan," they both said at once.

Keiichi looked up at them. He smiled when he realized that Mion was now back to normal and the chances of her doing something to him or anyone else were low. "Hey Mion, hey Shion. When did you get here, Shion? Did Hisao and Rena get everyone else?" he asked her.

"Oh, we got here a little bit ago. I ran ahead of everyone, though. Speaking of which," she said, glancing about the area. "Where the heck did everyone else go, anyways?"

Mion raised an eyebrow. "Everyone else?" she repeated. "What do you mean by everyone else, Shion?" she asked her, her head tilted to the side slightly.

Shion smiled. "Oh, me, Satoko, and Rika-chan came over here to go look for you because we were worried that you had died or something like that," she explained to her sister. "Luckily, though, you didn't. We ran into Ryota and Rena-san when we were going up the mountains. They're just behind, as well."

Mion's soft expression disappeared as she heard Rena's name. The flame containing her desire to kill and shred lit again, though it was still dim. "Where are they?" she questioned, her voice harsh.

From behind the tree, Rena felt herself shrink away. Mion was going back to being that demon that had tried to attack her before. That meant that it was possible that she'd attack Shion or possibly even Keiichi. She tried her best to stay hidden behind the trunk of the tree, knowing that if she were to be caught she would surely be attacked within a few seconds. Knowing that her best friend wanted to kill her killed her on the inside. She hated having to hide from her like this.

Shion shook her head. "I don't know, that's why I was asking," she said, glancing about the area one more time. "I think that they're behind… hm…"

Another glint of anger was visible in Mion's mostly normal eyes, which were slowly turning into the eyes of a demon. Rena shuddered, knowing that she would soon attack. She had to get Shion out of the way and fast, otherwise she would surely turned into minced meat. Glancing over at Rika and Satoko, she decided it would be better for her to go instead. They were just too young and Rena certainly didn't want them getting hurt. She looked over to Ryota, nodding her head, indicating that she was going to go over there and stop Mion in her tracks before something went terribly wrong. It was a risk, but Shion's safety would be ensured.

Rena took a deep breath, telling herself that it would be okay. If she ran quickly, then Mion wouldn't be able to kill her. This time, she'd try to fight back. Slowly, she stepped forward, creating a rustling sound in the branches of the trees. Then, she dashed out into the open area, causing everyone's attention to focus on her.

"Hello guys!" she greeted, faking a smile. "Uh, Shi-chan? How about if you come with me for a moment? I need to talk to you," she said, trying to come up with some way to get her out of there before Mion attacked her.

Rena averted her eyes from the group, not wanting to see the expression that Mion wore on her face. She looked horribly angry, her fists clenched shut and her fangs barred.

Mion felt that fire in her stomach lighting her insanity grow until it was nearly engulfing her and all of the emotions that she contained. Her hunger for blood and flesh returned within seconds, causing Mion to lick her lips at the sight of the orange-haired girl in front of her.

Keiichi felt his heart drop down into his stomach. Giving once glance to Mion, he knew that she was no longer her normal self. For some reason, this demon within her would be triggered whenever she caught sight of Rena. She was never that bad otherwise, even though she was currently trapped in such a demonic and terrifying form. He gulped, giving Rena a nervous glance.

"Uh, sure," spoke Shion, blinking at her out of confusion. "Where were you, anyways? I was with Mion for minutes before you guys showed up. You weren't that far behind, I don't think…"

Rena gave Mion a glance that only lasted for the amount of time it took her to process the fact that she was once again about to return to her berserk state. She grinned nervously at Shion. "Uh, well how about if I tell you that later? Right now, we really gotta go," she said, looking at the enraged demon out of the corner of her eye. "Really, really gotta go…"

Shion gave Rena a rather confused glance. For some reason, she seemed to be in a huge rush. She didn't quite understand why, though. The reason why they had come out here was to save Mion. And now, for some reason, she was telling her to go away from Mion to speak with her. She narrowed her eyes at Rena, trying to understand her though failing miserably.

Rena gave another glance to Mion, who was now growling at her. She opened her fists, stretching out her white claws. Realizing that she had little time, Rena smiled at Shion. "Shi-chan, come with me! Good bye!" she spoke, waving to Mion before she dashed off into the nearby forest.

"Why you… Rena," hissed Mion. Within seconds, she broke out into a dash, her mouth open wide as she chased after her. Shion's eyes widened at her sister's reaction, though she was rather confused. She gave Keiichi a glance, who also looked rather confused.

"Oh crap!" he cried out, his face turned from confused to worried. "Come on, we got to stop her!" he said. Without thinking, he grabbed Shion by the wrist and began to run as fast as he could, though he was stumbling quite a bit. Mion was just ahead of him, running too fast for him to catch up.

Mion stretched out her hand, reaching for Rena's dress. Her mouth watered as she thought of Rena's blood flowing into her mouth as she buried her fangs deep within her flesh. She licked her lips again, finding the idea of flesh just too tempting. She was beyond starving by this point and needed some human flesh to satisfy her craving before she went mad.

Rena glanced behind her nervously as Mion's claws grazed her dress. The boots she was wearing weren't so great for running in, giving her a disadvantage. They were tied up tightly and there was no way Rena could simply kick them off. She'd have to sit down before she could possibly get the knot out of her shoelaces. Mion, on the other hand, was barefoot and quick. She had the clear advantage here.

Mion's jaws snapped ferociously as she looked at Rena. She opened her mouth wide, drool dripping from her fangs and running down her chin, causing her to resemble a deranged wild animal. She wiped her face free from drool, though it didn't last very long before more came dripping from her mouth.

Rena gulped, keeping a close eye on Mion as she continued to run. For some reason, she couldn't look away from the sight despite how horrifying it was to her eyes. She tried to tear her eyes away, though finding it was impossible.

Such came at a price to her, however. Rena couldn't pay attention to the path ahead when she was busy staring at Mion's face, painted with her lust for blood. Her foot ended up getting caught on a root that lay on the forest ground, causing the orange-haired girl to fall flat on the ground. She scurried to stand up, though she was too slow. Mion pounced on her prey, pinning her down to the ground. She licked her lips as she observed the flesh on Rena's arms and legs. Slowly, she put her mouth over a juicy spot on her arm. She opened her mouth wide, showing the full length of her white fangs as she prepared to chomp down.

Rena let out a small cry as Mion's fangs buried into her soft flesh, causing a great amount of pain to flood her body. She tried to shake her off to no avail. Mion's fangs were just too deep into her flesh. Mion felt somewhat relieved as she tasted blood on her tongue, though she found that it wasn't enough for her. She needed more than just blood. She needed to taste her flesh, and quickly. Mion prepared to rip off a chunk of her flesh and gobble it up.

However, she never got the chance. A body tackled her, causing her fangs to dislodge from the soft flesh and her body to roll away from Rena's. Blood trickled down from her mouth and she coughed violently. She struggled to move, finding that it was impossible. She cried out in frustration as her limbs flailed.

"Don't you dare hurt Rena-chan!" cried Ryota, his body pinning hers down. "I won't allow you to hurt her, never!"

Mion growled as she stopped flailing. Out of the corner of her eye, she peered up at Ryota, who was busy trying to keep her limbs down. "When the hell did you get here?" she snapped at him. "I don't recall you being behind me. And besides, why the heck do you care about Rena so much? I just want a little dinner."

Ryota narrowed his eyes, feeling a little nervous about confronting her like this. However, he knew that he had to shake that off. He was Ryota, not Hisao. He was not a coward. He could surely do this. "That's enough!" he roared. "I don't care if you want dinner or if you want to kill her or whatever! She's my friend, and there's no way in hell I'll sit there and watch her get eaten!"

Mion laughed. "Oh, so you're the brave one, now are you?" she cackled, giving him and intimating stare that made him gulp. "I remember all too well, Ryota, all too well! I remember how you used to try to prove to all of us that you were brave using any way you could! However, you weren't really that brave. After all, you ran away when you saw me. You abandoned your friends and let them suffer. Isn't that right. Ryuga Ryota?" she questioned, staring into his eyes with her glowing green ones.

Ryota felt a drop of sweat trickle down his forehead, though he ignored it. She was speaking of memories he didn't even remember, ones that technically didn't count. "I was young," he spoke, "and besides, that Ryota is the Ryota I have long forgotten about. I don't know how I was when I was younger, but I'm someone different now! I'm not the Ryuga Ryota from seven years ago nor am I the Ohba Hisao that Etsuko has created! I'm Ryuga Ryota, and you better believe me when I say that!"

Mion grinned. "Oh, is that so?" she challenged him. "Well then, why don't you give me the punishment a demon like me deserves? Why don't you kill me now?"

Ryota nodded sternly. "Fine then, demon, if you want me to, I'll do it!" he yelled to her.

Mion smirked at him. "Go ahead, then."

Ryota felt a little scared, but he shook that emotion off. Slowly, he reached his hands out and wrapped them around Mion's neck. It would be easy to crack her neck and kill her here and now. Then, he could spare Rena from all the suffering she was in. With a deep breath, he began to apply a little pressure to her neck, though not so much at first. Ryota felt her struggled for air as his grip around her neck grew tighter. He was determined to do this. Killing a demon would be enough to prove to that he was indeed a strong person, not only to his friends, but also to himself.

Suddenly, he felt himself being shoved off of Mion by another person. Mion shot up, giving Ryota a stunned looked. Then, she glanced over to the trees and scurried away from sight. He blinked in confusion, slowly pulling himself up. He brushed off the dirt that he had collected from being shoved and rubbed his sore side.

Then, he looked up, meeting the eyes of the person who had disrupted his kill. The girl above him looked very angry for some reason that he could not point out, her hands placed on her hips.

"S-Shi-chan!" cried Rena. "That was totally uncalled for!" she spoke to her.

Shion gave her a silencing glare. "Shut the fuck up, you guys! Don't you realize what you are doing?" she asked them all, glancing about the group of friends. "You were about to kill Mion! She's our friend, our club leader, and she's my twin sister! What the heck were you trying to do that for?" she questioned.

"She's not Mion, Sonozaki-san!" cried Ryota as he looked up into those rage-filled eyes. "She's a demon, don't you see? That wasn't Mion!"

"That was Mion!" screamed Shion almost immediately. "She may be a demon, but she's still Mion! She told me herself that she was Mion, and I believe her! She was acting like herself before, so I don't understand why you're trying to kill her! Get yourself together!"

Ryota narrowed his eyes. "Mion doesn't try to eat people, Sonozaki-san! That wasn't Mion!" he screeched.

Shion blinked in confusion. "Eat… people?" she repeated reflectively. "I don't recall Mion trying to eat anyone here. That's just stupid," she growled. It became apparent to Ryota that Shion hadn't been there when Mion had been munching on Rena's arm. She had arrived and seen Ryota trying to strangle her, presumably because she looked like a demon and for no other reason.

Rena, who was now standing on her two feet, nodded. She raised her arm up, showing two holes where Mion had bit her. Blood was leaking out at a fast rate, dripping on the forest floor. Shion's eyes grew wide as she stared at the wound, stepping back a few steps. "You see here? Mi-chan bit me here. She wanted to make me her dinner, her dinner," she explained to the girl.

Shion slowly shook her head, taking a few steps back. Her back bumped into a nearby tree, causing her to fall down to the ground. Her eyes looked almost hollow as she stared at nothing, murmuring some words that no one else was able to catch to herself.

Keiichi, who hadn't said anything up until this point, sighed. "In any case, Shion's right. Even if she's acting this way, we can't kill Mion. We need to think of a way to bring her back to normal and use that method," she spoke to everyone around him. "Besides, she really is Mion, whether or not you want to believe it. Didn't you tell me about Etsuko's little plot, Hisao?" he said, glancing over to the boy who was still trying to get the dirt off of his shirt.

"Ryota," murmured Ryota as he rubbed a sore spot on his side.

Keiichi looked a little confused, but he decided to comply. "Didn't you tell me about Etsuko's plans, Ryota?" he repeated.

Ryota nodded. "Yeah, I did, but…"

Keiichi glared at him. "But what? Listen, Ryota, tell the story to the rest of us here, and then think it over a little bit," he ordered him. Then, he gave a glance to Rena, who was currently attempting to wash the blood off her hand. "Rena, do you know where Rika and Satoko are? We need them to be here, too," he asked her.

"Right here!" a small voice called out from behind a tree. Out stepped Rika, tugging along a very shocked Satoko. She didn't look surprised for some reason, despite the fact that the both of them had been there long enough to see the attack as noticeable on Satoko's face. "We didn't want to scare Mion or anything like that, so we stood here and watched," she explained to the group.

Keiichi gave a worried glance to Satoko, who looked traumatized after having seen such a thing. He let out small sigh, placing his hand gently on her head and ruffling her hair to comfort her. She looked up at him, a small smile on her face. "Listen, Satoko, I know that was a little scary, but I think we need to move on from that. Don't you want to fix Mion?" he asked the girl.

Satoko nodded. "Yeah, I want to fix Mion-san," she responded, the trauma on her face slowly fading.

Keiichi grinned. "Good, now everyone listen to what Ryota has to tell you."

Everyone's eyes focused on the black-haired boy sitting on the ground. He was shocked to feel so many eyes on him, though he knew that he needed to ignore that for now. With a deep breath, he began to speak to them. He told them all about the murder from seven years ago and Hajime. He told them about Etsuko's grief, and how large the impact had been. Then, he told them about her plan to turn Mion back into her demon form to make her remember her sins and then take revenge for what happened. He made sure he didn't leave out any details, as he could afford such a thing in a situation like this. They all listened to him with rapt eyes, though Shion's attention seemed to be a little divided. When he was done with his tale, he took a deep breath, observing the people around him. He hadn't felt the least bit scared of them when he was talking. He felt much more proud of himself now.

"So, basically, Etsuko-san forced Mion to turn into this demon for her own revenge?" Satoko spoke.

Ryota nodded. "Yeah, and now she's on a rampage."

Rika looked about the others, wondering to herself if they knew about the death of Etsuko. Judging by Ryota's tale, it certainly didn't seem like he did. Letting out a sigh, she decided it would be better to break the news to them if they hadn't found out or figured it out already. "Hey guys, I need to tell you something important," she spoke to the whole group. Everyone looked over to her, curious as to what she had to share. "Well guys, the truth is that Etsuko is dead," she said to them.

Ryota looked alarmed. "What did you say, Furude-san? Did you say that Etsuko is dead?" he spoke in disbelief.

Rika slowly nodded her head. "I think that Mii killed her… she was covered in claw markings, like in the murder case from seven years ago," she said to the others.

Ryota felt a huge impact. The person who had controlled him for this many years was now dead, her plan of killing Mion having failed. Now, she had left them with her mess to clean up. Mion was insane and was set on killing Rena, something they probably couldn't stop easily. Ryota winced a little. Etsuko hadn't really thought through the idea of her dying, now had she? "Well," Ryota sighed, "I guess we have to clean up her mess now," he spoke. He couldn't dwell on this much longer, he had to move on. Etsuko needed to be forgotten.

Rena nodded. "Alright, so let's go with what Keiichi was saying. Etsuko is controlling Mion in a way, though she's still Mion. We need to find a way to turn her back to normal so that we can continue to have fun with her and move on with our lifes," she said to the others. They all nodded in agreement. "So what I think is that we should have Keiichi confess his love to her… maybe that'll prevent things from happening?"

"Yeah, that works," Rika said, "Keiichi confessing should stop Mion's rampage. I think we should hunt her down and pin her with one of Satoko's traps to prevent her from killing anyone. Then, Keiichi could tell her all about his love for her in a very passionate way," she spoke to the others.

Keiichi raised an eyebrow. "Why do I have to tell her in a very passionate way?" she asked the girl.

Rika grinned. "To make her feel a little more happy and to improve our chances of her changing back. I think it should work nicely, don't you guys agree?" she said, glancing about the other club members.

Slowly, Shion nodded. "Kei-chan better use all his heart," she mumbled.

Keiichi frowned at the sight of Shion. She was so upset, which was understandable. By far she was the most impacted by this discovery, as she was Mion's identical twin. Now, she had discovered that they were of different species and were in fact not so identical. He couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her. He knew the bonds between twins were strong, and he knew that he couldn't quite understand what was going on between the two.

"Don't worry," he whispered to her. "If it saves Mion, then I will certainly do so. I'll tell her everything."

Shion nodded, though she said nothing.

"Does everyone agree?" Rena asked the whole group. Everyone nodded at once, causing Rena to smile. "All right then! Satoko, do you have any traps on hand that will help us trap Mion?" she said, turning to the yellow-haired girl sitting near her.

Satoko grinned. "Ohohohohoho! Don't you ever doubt me, Rena-san! Of course I have traps that will be able to do the job! Ohohohohoho!" she said, giving them one of her signature laughs.

"All right then," spoke Keiichi as he scanned the members once again, "let's go!"

All at once, the seven club members stood up and dashed into the woods where Mion had gone when Shion had interrupted Ryota's killing. It would be quite a while until they caught up with her, though they knew that they couldn't give up no matter what. Of course, that was a little tough for them. They had no way of knowing where Mion went to and that could turn this into a rather tedious search. Rena kept a sharp eye out for any sign of the green-haired girl, hoping that she hadn't gone off somewhere where they couldn't find her.

There were no more bloody footprints to track, making the search even more difficult for the seven friends. Ryota and Rena decided that they'd do their best to stay on watch for her while the others focused on where they were going. They were headed in the direction of the camping grounds, a place where Mion could possibly be.

Satoko, on the other hand, was busy setting up quick traps every here and there, making sure not to fall behind in the process. "If we hear one of my traps go off, we can go back here and search," she told the others as she made one of her traps, finishing it in a matter of seconds. "Though a part of me thinks that she might be by the camping grounds…"

"I agree with Satoko," spoke Rena. "Let's go check the camping grounds."

They continued onwards, now focused on heading towards the camping grounds. As they ran, Keiichi went over how he was going to confess his love to the demon girl. He needed to make sure that everything he said was perfect and full of love and passion. Surely something like that would break Mion away from her demonic and evil thoughts. "Um… I really love you Mion," Keiichi said. "So uh… um… yeah?"

Rika laughed a little. "Oh, Keiichi, you'll need to do better than that!"

Keiichi frowned. "I know, I know…"

The club members reached the camping grounds, only to find that it was completely barren of anyone. They frowned, wondering where she could be now that the camping grounds were out. Keiichi thought a little, trying to recall the area around them. There was the cliff a while back, but that was behind from where they came from. That aside, there was also a river nearby, wasn't there?

"Hey guys, how about the river?" Keiichi suggested. "I remembered there was a river just a little ways away from here."

Shion nodded. "Yes, there is. The really shallow river," she said, pointing into the thick trees behind them. The faint sound of rushing water could be heard, indicating that they were indeed close to the stream. Rika nodded as she peered into the thick woods, unable to see the river though able to hear it.

"That's a good idea," Satoko spoke. "Let's go!"

They dashed back into the thick forest, glancing around the area as they ran. The sound of trickling water grew louder and louder with every single step they took together as a group. Hopefully she'd be there; otherwise they'd probably be at a loss for where to go. Keiichi spotted a small path leading out to an open area. He noticed that there were a few pebbles on the ground, indicating that the stream was there.

Keiichi took a closer look down the path. Like before, the riverbed was covered in tons of tiny pebbles that had to be uncomfortable to stand on. And surelt enough, there, right in front of the river, was Mion, gazing at her reflection. She stuck a finger into the water, poking at the image of the demon that was herself. Keiichi couldn't help but feel a little sorrow, knowing how ugly she thought she was.

"Right there," he spoke softly, pointing at her. "But be quiet. Don't everyone rush out at once."

Rena looked over at the girl, frowning. She knew she was unhappy even though she couldn't see her face. Her body language was enough for her to know that. "How about if Satoko goes and captures her, and when she's secure, we'll try to talk it out with her?" she suggested.

Satoko nodded. "Sounds good."

The young yellow-haired girl crept forward, careful not to make any loud noises that would startle Mion. Carefully, she set up a small trap on the pebbles a little behind Mion. Then, she picked up a pebble from the ground and tossed it up and down in her hand. Keiichi slowly shook her head, hoping that Satoko wasn't going to do what he thought she was going to do. Unfortunately, however, she did. Satoko chucked the pebble at Mion's back, causing her to turn around. She looked startled as she stared into the eyes of Satoko, surprised to see her rather than someone else.

"Mion-san, Rena-san is over there," she told her, pointing towards the group of friends.

Mion instantly believed Satoko, her expression growing angry. "Why that Rena," she growled as she took a step forward. Satoko smiled, looking down at Mion's bare feet as they approached the trap. She didn't seem to notice it at all. Suddenly, as she stepped on it, she tripped over. A rope was tied tightly around her ankles. She growled, trying to undo the tight knot that restricted her from movement. Before she could however, Satoko whipped a rope out from seemingly nothing. She tied Mion's legs together before moving to constrict her arms. Mion flailed as she rolled about, unable to move her limbs.

"Why you, Satoko!" she yelled. "The hell was that for?"

Satoko gave her an apologetic look. I'm sorry, Mion-san, but I had to," she whispered. Then, she whipped around to the entrance of the riverbank, smiling. "I got her, guys! You can come over here now, it's safe!"

As soon as she said those words, all the club members came running on the riverbank to get a good look at their club leader, who was pathetically trying to get herself out of the ropes. However, there was nothing she could do with her limbs constricted like that. She rolled about, cursing underneath her breath. Satoko placed a hand on her and pressed down to prevent her from rolling. Mion grumbled, giving up on the idea of escape.

"Mion!" cried Keiichi. He ran up to her, instantly sitting down in front of her. "Hello, Mion! We're sorry it came down to this, but we couldn't find another way. I hope you aren't too angry," he said with a large grin on his face.

"Kei-chan," she murmured. Then, she looked at the other club members, catching sight of Rena instantly. She growled at her, opening her mouth to reveal her sharp fangs once again.

Keiichi took her head in his two hands and redirected it so that she was looking at him and no one else. "Ignore Rena, Mion," he ordered her. "Right now, we need to talk…"

~~~~X~~~~

**Crimso's Corner.**

**Sorry for the delay, life has been hectic recently. Right now, I have no idea how long this fanfiction will be, so disregard my last prediction. I can tell you, however, that we have less than ten chapters to go, perhaps less than eight maybe. It won't be long until this is all over, so bear with me until I get to writing them all up. I wanted to finish this one before tomorrow, which is when I have to study all night for my History Test of Doom. I believe I have said this already, but my History teacher is really, really, really, really, really, really tough. I can't believe she gave us a test on the last day of classes! Her tests are hell. She gives us this long study guide saying "Things you need to know" with a list of TONS and TONS of crap. However, it would be more approprite to call it "Things you need to know and a ton of other stuff that you don't actually need to know." She only puts 1/12th of the stuff she says she's going to put on the test. It's which twelfth she's going to put on it that we have to figure out. Of course, since that's impossible, we study everything and end up wasting four hours of our life studying stuff we didn't even need to know. Yup. **

**In any case, let's move on. Today was insane. We have only one or two more classes left in each subject and it's getting rather crazy. Today I walked into English class to find my English teacher saying, "GET OUT YOUR PAPER AND START YOUR ESSAYS!" I… I had no idea that we were starting out essays. I-I wasn't prepared… and I still have 3/8ths to finish next class. I'm glad he's back, though. Phew. In any case, studying aside, I'm pretty much done for the year. Updates SHOULD increase after I'm let out on the 7****th****. I took a while writing this, I know, but I needed to do stuff for class. Writing the scenes in which they are just running around isn't too fun for me, either. When I was writing the scene where Rena was staring at Mion as she was running, I was tempted to quote one of my friends. She said this one time, "Being in math class is like watching a guy get hit by a car. You want to look away because it is terrifying, but you just can't." Yeah, that wouldn't be all that appropriate for the scene xD. **

**Please leave a review, as always. I love reviews. This time, anyone who reviews will receive a plushie of… *drumroll* Shion! This is a pretty plushie which is very huggable, so you want it. No, there's no question about it. You want it. Why? Because I said so. That's why. You will review, by the way. You will. Why? Because you love this chapter and you love this fanfiction. Well, I hope you do anyways. So you will review.**

**Right…? *puppy dog eyes*.**

**~Crimso**


	34. Chapter 33: Here, Kitty Kitty

**Hola, mis amigos! Study hall during Spanish class. We're missing half the class, so we just have study hall. He offered to give us a surprise test to improve our grade, but I shot that down. There was one kid who tried to convince us to take it cuz he has a terrible grade, but my teacher just looked at him, sighed, and said, "no, you have no chance to do well the test... you won't get even a fifty." Yeah, his English isn't too great, but he is an awesome teacher. We have a party tomorrow, too. Yay! I hope I don't fail the essay later…**

**~33~**

~~~~X~~~~

The demon girl looked up at the boy with curious eyes, though the girl that stood there in the corner, almost taunting her with her very presence, distracted her vision. He held her head gently in his hands to make sure she was looking at him, a little annoyed that her vision wasn't completely on him. He gazed into her glowing green eyes, smiling at her. Mion tilted her head to the side, still a little confused. Her vision began to trail off to Rena in the corner, the voice in her mind telling her to kill her and eat her.

"Look at me, Mion," Keiichi ordered her gently. Her eyes returned to his face, a light blush highlighting her features. He smiled gently at her in an attempt to distract her from Rena, knowing exactly what she'd do when she got a hold of that girl. "Good girl," he spoke.

Then, he did something that surprise Mion. He reached his hand out and patted her head gently, just like he'd pat Rena. She blushed fiercely, though she wondered to herself why he head never pat her like that before. He had always done it to Rena, so why not her? He ran his fingers through her hair and down the length of her long green ponytail, just missing the two horns protruding from the front of her head, curving back over her.

"You're a good girl, Mion," he told her, "so listen to me now, okay? I've got something really important to tell you."

Mion nodded. "All right," she murmured underneath her breath.

He smiled. "All right then, Mion. You see… Mion… the truth is that…"

Mion glanced over to her side, finding the sight of Rena very, very distracting. Her mouth watered a little, and she tried not to drool. Keiichi was saying some things to her, though her ears refused to pick it up. Rena's eyes widened when she noticed that her glowing gaze was once again on her instead of Keiichi, and she stared at her.

She could feel that rage and that hunger slowly coming back, a feeling that she heavily disliked. She hated being a demon, but there was nothing she could do about it now. Her stomach growled, making her feel extremely uncomfortable. She knew the demonic urges were going to come back any moment now. She couldn't help but look at her prey with eyes full of hunger, causing her pretty to jump in alarm.

Rena tugged on Ryota's arm, causing him to look over at her. She pointed a finger to Mion, and he looked in that direction. His eyes also widened when he noticed that Mion was not paying to attention to Keiichi's words and that their plan was failing.

"…Hey, are you listening to me, Mion?" Keiichi asked, moving her head back towards him.

Mion's head snapped back to Keiichi, and she nodded even though she hadn't heard a word of what he had said. Keiichi let out a sigh of relief. "All right then, Mion, but please look at me while I'm speaking to you. I want… I want to make sure you hear everything I'm saying," he said.

Mion nodded once.

"All right then, Mion. Where was I? Oh yes. You're my best friend, you know. You were always so brave and I always admired your courage. I remember when you stood up for us, trying to take the bullet for us when Takano wanted to shoot you. I was amazed at how brave you were, Mion," Keiichi said, looking directly into her eyes, which were slowly averting her vision. "I've never met someone as brave as you before. I can't even compare to the bravery that you show off. I... I'm really just a coward compared to you, aren't I?" he spoke, a sad smile on his face.

Mion glanced to Rena, finding it hard to take her eyes off of her. Keiichi let out another sigh as he redirected her vision back to him. "Listen, Mion! You've really changed me. I used to be someone without friends, someone who didn't care for anything other than grades and that crap. However, you taught me how to have fun with everyone and how to have good friends. You changed my life from something dull into something fun to live," he said. "And for that reason, I don't care if you're a demon or a human! You may be a demon, but none of us care about that, all right?"

Mion nodded, finding her gaze slowly drifting back to Rena. She was looking at Keiichi, a huge smile on her face. She couldn't help but growl at that. She found it disgusting to see her gaze on the boy she loved. Didn't she know about her feelings for Keiichi? In that case, why did she ever try to love him, too? Mion couldn't help but feel enraged by such an action.

She felt her claws at her sides bury into the pebbles, trying to control her actions. She was finding it hard to hold back her demon side, the side of her that wanted nothing more than to kill. Keiichi let out another sigh as he noticed this. "This isn't working at all," he said. "You keep getting distracted by Rena, why is that? Why can't you just listen to me!" he cried out in frustration, bringing his fist down on the rocks that covered the riverbank.

Mion frowned. "I… I'm sorry, Kei-chan. I don't know why, but I can't… I can't get my eyes away… she's… she's trying to… to…" her whole body began to shake violently, causing Keiichi to take a few steps back. The last time he had seen something like this was when he saw her at the tree after murdering Kimiyoshi. After that, she had grown those horns and those claws, as well as her fangs.

"Stop it, Mion! Hang in there!" he called to her, knowing fully why she was shaking. She was going to transform again. "Don't fall to the demon! Don't fall to it! Fight it, fight it!"

Mion slowly shook her head. "I… I can't," she whispered as her body's trembling began to increase. "I… I can't! I can't!" she cried out. Her limbs began to move a bit at her sides and her feet attempted to kick, though the ropes that Satoko had put up restricted them. A surge of pain ran throughout her body, reminding her of the time she had gained her demonic features. She knew what was happening to her instantly and she began to try to fight the force within her body that was slowly transforming her into the demon that she was.

"Quickly, everyone, hold her down!" he cried out to the group. They all nodded, running towards Mion. Each of them placed their hands on her, as if trying to give her power to stop her transformation. The last thing Keiichi wanted to see was her in an even more demonic state than the one she was.

"She's going to turn into her true form!" cried Rika as she desperately held Mion to the floor. "We have to stop this transformation, now!"

"True…. Form?" spoke Shion. "W-What do you mean by true form?"

Rika frowned as she looked up at the other Sonozaki twin. "Every demon has a true form that resembles an animal or even a human of some kind. They all have a special power, too. Mion's transforming into that true form of hers right now, and god knows what she will look like when she does. I don't want to see her in such a state," she explained to the girl.

Keiichi titled his head. "What kind of power will she have?" he asked the girl

Rika shook her head. "I don't know, Keiichi, but how about if we DON'T find out what it is?" she suggested, applying more pressure to the girl below her who was currently struggling to break free of the grasp the rope had on her limbs.

Ryota nodded. "I'd also prefer not to find out what her true form looks like," he said.

"I agree with Ryota-san!" cried Satoko as she attempted to tightened the ropes restraining Mion. "I don't want to see her like that, that would be awful!"

Keiichi glanced down at the struggling Mion, his teeth clenched. Her struggling was beginning to increase, and Keiichi was finding it hard to hold her down. Her power was escalating slowly, her limbs beginning to break free of the ropes that were binding her.

Finally, the ropes snapped, causing Satoko to gasp. She stepped away quickly, holding the rope she was about to bind to Mion tightly in her hand. They were losing the struggle.

"Quick, everyone, just let go of her!" cried Keiichi, who reluctantly let go of her. Holding her down like that was just adding to the pressure and to her pain. The other club members let go as well, understanding exactly why he had told them to let go. The struggle was pointless. Mion couldn't fight herself, no matter how hard she tried to.

They all took a few steps back, their eyes focused on the trembling girl in front of them. Some of them covered their mouths with their hands while others looked away, unable to bear seeing their club leader in such a state. She slowly stood up on her two legs, shaking like crazy. She let out a scream of pure pain and clutched her chest tightly as the pain spread throughout her whole body, almost to the point where it was unbearable. Her fangs elongated quite a bit, their tips even more sharp. Her hands began to shake uncontrollably as her claws grew longer and sharper.

The glow in her eyes increased, the green now completely blocking her pupils from sight. Her eyes were now just a glowing green color, looking like they were empty of soul. She began to cackle insanely, throwing up her arms as she did so. The club members took a few more steps back, considering the idea of running away. Mion stopped laughing and began to stare at each and every one of them with her glowing, demonic eyes.

"Get ready to become minced meat, RYUUUUUGUUUU RENNNAAAAA!" she cried out. Instantly, she lunged forward, aiming for the orange-haired girl. Rena ducked out of the way as fast as she could, falling down on the uncomfortable pebbles as she did so. She rubbed her stinging back, grumbling a little.

Instead, Mion was now on top of poor Satoko, who was looking at her with horrified eyes. She looked into those soulless green eyes, looking like she was about to scream. "M-Mion-san!" she cried out as she attempted to shake the demon off of her. "Stop it, this isn't you, Mion-san! Stop!"

Satoko threw a smoke bomb in the air, causing it to go off around them. She managed to struggle free from her and escape behind the others through the thick smoke, her face plastered with terror. She clung to Shion's skirt, hoping that she would give her some comfort. However, Shion was frozen to the ground, her mouth opened and her eyes full with fear and shock.

"O-Onee," whispered Shion. "W-What in the world… happened to you?"

The smoke soon cleared up, revealing Mion's figure glancing about the area in desperate search for the others. She spotted them, gazing at them for a little while. She opened her mouth slightly, wanting to intimidate them with her long, sharp fangs. She licked her lips once before she pounced on Rena, pinning her to the ground. She cackled madly as she looked into Rena's blue eyes, full with horrification.

"Prepare to become dinner, Ryuuguu Rena!" she cried out. Rena let out a shriek as she struggled beneath her, feeling Mion's claws dig into her flesh. She flailed about, unable to get the insane girl off of her.

Then, using all her force, she rolled over, causing Mion to fall with her. Mion crashed on the floor, pebbles hitting her skull. She growled at the slight pain, looking at Rena with fierce eyes glazed with a green glow. "That hurt," she growled as she slowly pulled herself up. "That hurt," she repeated, "that really, really hurt. Don't you know that, Rena?"

Rena hopped on her feet, backing away from the girl in front of her. "Please don't do this, Mi-chan! You're not thinking properly! Don't you understand anything at all!" she screamed out. "You've got everything all wrong!"

Mion narrowed her green eyes, looking not confused, but angry. "Oh, I have everything right, Rena. Do you not think that I of all people understand what you are going through? You love Keiichi, but Keiichi is mine. I cannot allow you to take him from me!" she screeched out,

"STOP IT!" cried Ryota, stepping into Mion and Rena's little fight. "That's not true, that's not true at all! Rena-chan doesn't love Keiichi! She told me herself that she wants you and Keiichi to get together!" he yelled at her, a fierce sound in his tone that surprised even him.

Mion crossed her arms over her chest, raising an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

Rena nodded her head. "Yes, I think that you and Keiichi-kun would make the perfect couple! You two are just so cute together, you have no idea! I would love nothing more then to see you two kiss! Why don't you understand, Mi-chan?" she cried out to the girl so locked in her insanity that she could not see the truth. It was obvious to everyone that he liked her back, so why couldn't she see it, too?

"YOU'RE LYING!" screamed Mion, causing the nearby Higurashi cicadas to fly away out of pure fear. Rena stumbled back, surprised by the sudden shouting. "I know that you're lying to me! After all, I'm a demon! I know the truth and I know that you're just trying to confuse me so that you and Kei-chan could be together!" she yelled. Then, she raised her claws up in the air, showing off their new sharpness. "PREPARE TO DIE, RYUUGUU RENA!"

Mion ran forward, her claws outstretched. The group of friends jumped away, startled. Her claws grazed human flesh, causing the owner to cry out in pain. Mion growled. "I didn't mean to hurt you, Rika," she hissed at her, "so stay out of the way. I don't think it's appropriate to eat a child."

Rika scoffed, the blood from her scratch mark dripping down onto the pebbles, staining them a crimson color. "I am not a child, Mion," she told the demon, "looks can be deceiving. You should know that better than anyone else," she told the enraged girl. "After all, which one of us is the man-eating demon is disguise?" she taunted her.

Mion slashed her claws against Rika's skin, this time on purpose. They cut into her stomach, causing her to wince in pain. "Don't you dare say something like that!" she screamed at the little girl before moving down to tear her skin once again. Her sharp claws cut her over and over again, making Rika cry out with the pain of being slashed so many times.

Satoko threw a pack at Mion, which exploded all over her. Dust flew up into her face, causing her to cough over and over again and cover her face. Blinded, Satoko took this as an opportunity to fight back. She crouched down on the floor, beginning to set up a trap. None of them really understood what she was doing, but not one of them bothered to ask in this situation.

Keiichi tried to think of some way to protect his friends while not hurting Mion. He couldn't bear to hurt the girl he loved. That would just be plain cruel, not to mention wrong. He growled and clenched his fists in frustration, watching as Mion tried to gain back her eyesight.

"Why you," growled Mion as she took steps forward, only to step on the trap that Satoko had set up. It triggered, sending a whole bunch of smoke flying out. Satoko searched the pebbles below, finding a giant rock within them. She tossed it up and down in her hand before throwing it at Mion, hitting her directly in the stomach.

Mion clutched her stomach, screaming out in pain. Satoko winced at the sight, hating the idea of hurting her friend like that. However, at a time like this, she had no choice. Mion glared at her with glowing green eyes, a hatred in her expression. "Do you want to die too, kid?" she snapped at her. "I was just here to kill Rena. I wasn't planning on killing you, but if you interfere, I guess I have no choice."

Satoko ducked as Mion lunged for her, though she did not miss. Mion looked down upon her with menacing eyes, gazing over her tiny body. She sniffed her a few times as if she was some kind of animal. Then, she positioned her mouth right above a chunk of flesh on her arm, ready to bite down.

Rena thought quickly. She stuffed her hand in the pocket on Shion's skirt and snatched up the taser she kept there. She ran forward with it, pressing the button as he aimed for Mion. She pressed the prongs to her back, sending an electric charge through Mion's body. She let out a cry as she fell to the ground, shaking violently.

Satoko stood up, glancing at the spot where Mion was about to bite. She suddenly felt a little ill as she thought of Mion eating her, an image she'd rather not see. "Thank you, Rena-san," muttered Satoko, "I could have been dinner!"

Rena shot her a quick grin and nodded. Then, she focused on the demon on the ground, who was stunned from the electric charge. She crouched down so that she was closer to her and looked down upon her face, almost unable to read her emotions through those pupil-less eyes. Mion's eyes narrowed a little when she caught sight of her, but she did not move.

Rena raised her hand high before bringing it down on Mion's cheek, giving her a good slap. Then, she did it again, this time to the other cheek. "Snap out of it, Mi-chan!" she cried out. "Don't you understand anything? I don't love Keiichi-kun! He's a really good friend of mine, but I've never had a crush on him, not even once. So stop thinking this way! Why won't you believe me?" she yelled to the stunned demon.

"Stop lying," Mion hissed, slowly pulling herself up. Rena blinked in surprise. The stun from the taser should have left her immobile for a good amount of time. And yet, it didn't. Mion easily stood up on her two feet, now higher that Rena. She looked down upon her with hate in those demonic eyes of her. "Now shut up and let me eat you. I'm a hungry demon, and hungry demons aren't very nice."

Shion snatched the taser back from Rena, staring at it with wide eyes. Then, she looked over to her sister. Should she use it on her? Shion gulped, not sure what she could do in this battle. One part of her, the side of her that was Sonozaki Shion, the club member, told her to go ahead and attack Mion. The other part of her, the side of her that was Sonozaki Shion, Mion's identical twin, told her to leave her alone and watch. She couldn't hurt her sister, could she? That wouldn't be right!  
Mion saw this and sneered. "Aren't you going to kill me with that taser of yours, Shion?" she asked her.

Slowly, Shion shook her head, taking a few steps back. "I can't… I can't hurt you, sis, I just can't hurt you…"

Rika glanced over to Shion, her jaw dropped. "Shion! We can't think of something like that at a time like this! Maybe you can bring her to her senses if you taser her a little. Just help!" she cried out to her.

However, Shion simply shook her head again. "I… I can't! I can't hurt my sister… I can't hurt my twin! But I can't let you guys die…" she looked at the taser in her hand, her eyes wide. "I DON'T KNOOOOW!"

Mion smirked. At least she had one person who wouldn't hurt her. She glanced over to Keiichi, gazing at him for a little while while the others tried to help Shion with her conflicted mind. He turned to meet her vision, looking into those eyes of hers. Mion blushed, hoping to herself that Keiichi wouldn't hurt her, either. He wouldn't, would he? Such wouldn't be Keiichi. He wouldn't hurt her… he just wouldn't.

"Mion," sighed Keiichi, "would you please listen to what I have to say?"

Mion titled her head to the side. "I'm sorry, but I can't right now. I have to deal with a few pests," she answered, focusing her gaze on the rest of the group. Shion was clutching her head, muttering a few things while the others tried to snap her back into reality. Mion darted her tongue up, touching the tips of her fangs. She licked them, grinning widely as she did so. She had the perfect chance to attack.

Focusing on Rena, Mion ran forward with her claws outstretched. Rika spotted this and tried to warn her, but they were not reached. Mion charged into her, knocking Satoko out of the way as she did so. She clawed Rena with sharp slashes, aiming to kill her the same way she had killed Etsuko and Hajime. Then, when she was dead, she would eat her body. It seemed like a flawless plan to Mion. After all, no one had stopped a demon besides another demon.

Mion slashed Rena more and more, grinning madly. Satoko grabbed onto one of Mion's arms, trying to pull her away with all her might. Ryota did the same, tugging at her. Mion screamed and struggled to get free, thrashing her arms about. Her claws constantly grazed Satoko's face as she flailed about, causing blood to trickle down her cheek.

"STOP IT" screeched a helpless Keiichi. "STOP IT YOU GUYS!"

None of them heard him, however. Mion stretched her claws out, clawing Rika in the face by accident. Rika cried out in pain. Satoko, alarmed, threw another giant rock at Mion, causing her to whip around and attack her. Keiichi watched the scene with tears welling up in his eyes, which soon flowed down his cheeks.

"STOP IT!" he cried out once again, though all his words he knew were in vain.

Mion continued to attack the others. She bit down on Ryota's hand, sending a cry out from his mouth. Shion backed away slowly, not sure what to do. She placed a hand on her taser, though she did nothing with it. Rena hit Mion in the face for hurting Ryota, which only made Mion claw her, digging her claws right into her soft flesh. Satoko placed her hand on a smoke bomb in her pocket, tempted to use it. Mion noticed this and growled, knocking the smoke bomb right out of her hands.

Rena moved to attack Mion, only to end up with Mion's fangs buried deeply into her arm. She cried out in pain as Mion focused on digging her fangs as deeply as she could into her flesh. Tears from pain splattered to the ground as Rena tried to shake her off to no avail.

"MION!" screamed Keiichi.

She didn't hear him. She was too focused with her kill to hear his screams. She drew her fangs out, licking up the blood that poured out from the wound. Ryota tried to stop her, though Mion saw his attack before he could launch it. She punched him in the face with her demonic strength, sending him stumbling backwards.

Mion returned to Rena, stretching her claws out. Satoko and Rika tried to intervene, but Mion gave them a deadly glare, sending them stumbling backwards into a stunned Shion. She licked her bloodstained lips with her pink tongue, enjoying the taste of the small amount of blood. Rena hesitated, not sure what she should do. She really wished that she had her cleaver; she could probably fight her off then. Mion raised her hand up high in the air and brought it down on Rena, scratching her from her face all the way down to her stomach. She buried her claws right into the soft flesh as she raked her, finding the feel enjoyable. Rena screamed louder than ever before, tears running down her eyes like a waterfall. She hated feeling so weak, but there was really nothing she could do.

"I LOVE YOU, SO STOP IT!" screeched Keiichi desperately. "I LOVE YOU, I

LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU!" tears fell down his cheeks. He knew all too well that his words would never reach Mion. She had gone too far into insanity to focus on anything other than killing her prey. He rammed his hand into a tree in frustration, unable to control the endless tears that were now streaking down his cheek. He was conflicted. He couldn't hurt Mion, and he couldn't let Rena die. So what was he to do? He glanced over to Shion, who was watching them with wide eyes. She too did not know what she should do.

Ryota tried ramming into Mion, trying to get her away from Rena. At this rate, she'd surely die. "Stop it!" he cried out. "Don't hurt my Rena, don't hurt her!"

Rena shoved Mion away from her, sending her stumbling back. A good amount of blood dripped from her outstretched claws and splattered on the rocks beneath. Tears still ran down Rena's face, though they were slowly fading away. She glanced down at her limbs, covered with countless scars. She was beginning to feel faint due to the loss of blood. Her vision was blurring and she began to stumble, almost unable to stand.

Ryota stood in front of her protectively, his fists clenched. He stretched his arms out, acting as her shield. "Don't you hurt her anymore!" he yelled at her. "I'll… I'll protect her from you, demon!" he snapped.

Mion frowned. "Get out of my way," she demanded.

Ryota shook his head. "I will not move!" he spoke stubbornly.

Mion growled at him. "I told you to get out of my way," she hissed.

Yet, Ryota still did not budge. "I will not move!" he repeated, his voice firm.

"I TOLD YOU!" screamed Mion, "GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

Mion screamed, holding her claws up high. She threatened to bring the down on Ryota, but he still did not budge. He looked up at those claws with courage in his eyes and he practically glued his feet to the ground. He couldn't be afraid. He had to make sure Rena was safe. Mion brought her hand down, only for Ryota to grab Rena and push her out of the way. Her claws missed them both, slicing through thin air.

"Why you," growled Mion. Her body was slumped over, her bangs covering her eyes. Slowly, she raised her head slightly so that only one of her glowing eyes were visible, full of anger. "I'll kill you," she hissed. "I'll kill you!"

Mion charged forward. This time, however, Ryota was ready. He jumped backwards just in time, Mion's claws missing him once again. He kept taking steps backwards as Mion slashed the air in front of her, stepping forward. Ryota moved his head to the right and to the left to avoid her sharp points, surprised at his ability to dodge. Rena was forgotten as Mion desperately slashed, missing his flesh with each and every move.

Finally, Mion grew annoyed. She opened her mouth and let out a ferocious cry, stretching out both of her hands. Using all her force, she lunged her claws forward, set on digging right into his flesh. Ryota didn't know what to do, and he had to act fast. Without thinking, he bent backwards. Mion's claws went right past him, just barely missing his nose.

Mion and Ryota stood upright, looking into each other's eyes. They were both panting like crazy, their chests heaving up and down. They said nothing, all the words they needed were exchanged through eye contact. Ryota narrowed his eyes, holding his hands out again. The expression on his face was stern, and he showed no sign of giving into her.

"Why… YOOOOOOOOU!" screamed Mion. "I'L KILL YOU, I'LL KILL YOU, I'LL KILL YOU, I'LL KILL YOU, I'LL KILL YOU, I'LL ILL YOU, I'LL KILL YOU!" she repeated over and over again, her tone filled with insanity. Her hands began to shake violently, followed by her feet and then her entire body. "I'LL TEAR YOU INTO PIECES, YOU LITTLE FUCKING BRAAAAAAAAAAAAT!" she screeched.

Hanyuu glanced over to Rika, who was watching the whole scene with wide, afraid eyes. "Rika!" she cried out to her.

Rika nodded her head. "I know!" she screamed to Hanyuu. Then, she whipped around to Satoko, who was also watching with wide, afraid eyes. "Satoko! Look away!" she cried out to the girl.

Satoko turned to Rika. "What?" she said.

"LOOK AWAY!" she ordered her.

Satoko instantly obeyed, covering her eyes with both of her hands. She didn't understand why exactly, but she knew that she couldn't disobey her friend. It was surely a serious matter, whatever it was.

Rika glanced about the group. Everyone had their full attention on Mion, not one of them looking away aside from Satoko. She cleared her throat, and then bellowed, "EVERYONE! LOOK AWAY, RIGHT NOW! LOOK AWAY!"

Keiichi looked a little confused, but then he realized what was happening and quickly averted his eyes. He looked over to the rushing stream, gazing at his own reflection to distract himself. Shion hesitated, giving her trembling sister once glance before she too looked way, covering her eyes tightly. Rena did the same, knowing fully well what was going to happen. Ryota stood there, his eyes firmly locked on Mion. He couldn't look away; he couldn't hurt the pride that he gained!  
"Ryota, look away!" screeched Rika desperately. However, the boy still did not look away. "RYOTA, I SAID LOOK AWAY!

Ryota gave a glance to the trembling Mion and then to Rika, wondering to himself if he should just listen to her. He looked back at Mion, seeing an extreme amount of fierceness in her eyes that caused her to shudder. He then decided that he shouldn't force himself to act braver than he should and covered his eyes, knowing that the commotion before him was something that would forever scar him if he were to see.

Mion began to scream louder than ever before and her body shook with such intensity that the pebbles below her began to scatter. Then, it happened. Her whole body began to contort and grow in ways unimaginable, the sound level of her screams escalating as it happened. People were tempted to look, though they thought better of it and kept their eyes shielded. Mion felt pain burn through her body, turning into strength as it numbed. She could feel her body distort and take on a new form, a feeling she found sickening. Her vision was blurring as well as her very sense of reality and she found herself unable to feel anything around her.

Then, it stopped. Mion's screaming ceased and she was now quiet. Her sense of touch was slowly coming back to her. The area around her seemed so different now that she was in a new form. She looked around at the club members. She was still the same height as them, but she felt different in a number of ways. For one, she was standing on four legs, not two.

Then, feeling madness returning to her, she let out a vicious roar. Rika peaked an eye open to take quick look, but quickly shut it again after she got only a small glance of the great demon in front of her. Then, once again, she opened an eye. She let herself observe Mion for a few seconds to confirm if her suspicions were true. Her eyes opened wide after a few second and her mouth circled into a giant O.

Mion glared at her with fierce eyes, causing Rika to jump back in surprise. Mion looked nothing like herself now, looking like a complete monster. Anyone who saw her would never be able to recognize her as Mion, but Rika knew better. The demon in front of her was indeed Mion.

Her true form was most interesting, to say the least. Rika hadn't quite known what to expect, but she was at least glad that she didn't look like a mutant pig or anything similar. She resembled a giant lynx, her fur the color of her hair. She had two, glowing green eyes just like the ones she had had before. Two white horns grew out of her head, curving over it. At her mouth, she had two huge, monstrous fangs that stuck out and reached down to her chin. She also had a tail that was bushy and soft, as well as green like the rest of her. She had several dark green, ominous patterns decorating her body of all different types. Some were stripes, while other were spots and rings.

"GRRRRAAAAAAWR!" she roared out to the world. Her roar echoed across the entire forest, able to be heard from every single corner. Birds perched on trees fled in fear, creating a mass of flying birds over them.

Rika covered her mouth with her hand, shocked at the sight before her. Right now, right in front of her, she was experiencing the most terrifying creature that had come to Hinamizawa in hundreds of years. She hadn't been able to tell how real the drawings were in the book, but now she new for certain that the creatures certainly did exist and were probably just as horrifying as drawn.

Mion growled as she observed her surroundings, finding that everyone had their eyes shut aside from Rika. She turned over to look at Rena, finding that she too was looking away from her. With a great swipe of one of her paws, she knocked Rena over. Rena's eyes shot open as Mion pounced on her, crushing her underneath her weight.

"GAAAAAAH!" screamed Rena as she kicked and struggled underneath the great creature. She landed a great kick right on Mion's stomach, causing her to yelp out in pain. She jumped off of Rena, looking at her with ferocious, soulless eyes. Rena looked back into those eyes, unable to find a trace of the Sonozaki Mion she knew.

"M-Mi-chan?" Rena spoke. "T-That can't be you… is it you?" she asked, scooting backwards away from the giant demon.

Mion said nothing, she simply hissed at her, opening her mouth to show off the full length of her great fangs. Rena shut her eyes, unable to take the sight before her. That demon couldn't really be Mion… right?

Keiichi could hear the great roars of his love, and yet, he kept his eyes shut. He didn't want to see what kind of creature she had become. What if she looked like an ugly, gruesome monster? Keiichi wasn't too sure what he'd make of that. Sure, he'd love her no matter what, but that didn't mean that he'd be afraid of her. He swallowed his curiosity and forced his eyes to stay shut, slowly backing away just in case.

Satoko curiously peaked an eye open, wondering what the sounds being made were. Mion turned to her, looking into her open eye with two, glowing ones. Satoko screamed, both of her eyes flying open. She stumbled backwards into a tree and fell to the floor; her eyes wide as she stared back at that demon who was her leader.

"Satoko!" cried Shion as she turned around, opening her eyes to look at the girl who was now lying with her back pressed up against the bark of a tree. She saw the horror in her eyes and couldn't help but feel a pang of worry in her stomach. Slowly, she turned around, catching sight of the demon before her. Her tail swished back and forth as she glared at her twin sister, hostility in her eyes. Shion felt herself freeze to the ground. She wanted to run away, but her body didn't let her. This was her identical twin sister, a demon. She almost didn't want to believe it. She almost refused to believe it.

Ryota's eyes slowly opened, his mind telling him to be brave. As he caught sight of what Mion had become, he gulped. She was nothing like the girl he had met the first day he had arrived here in Hinamizawa. When he had seen her, she was a natural leader, full of spirit and loyalty to her friends. Now, a little bit of envy had done this to her. He felt his whole body tremble, but he tried to ignore it. "N-Nice evil, demon, creepy kitty," he said as he backed away, scanning her body as he did so. "Don't hurt me now…"

Mion's eyes narrowed before she let out another loud roar, shaking the ground beneath her. Ryota took a few more steps back, this time faster than before. His heart rate was slowly increasing, though he told himself that he had to endure it. He also told himself that it was okay if he was a little scared, as the thing in front of him was something that was almost unknown to mankind. He gulped as Mion stared at him, growling.

Mion swiped her paw, sending him flying against a tree. Then, she charged at him with her horns, ramming him further against the bark. He felt immense pain in his stomach at such an attack. He coughed out globs of sticky, red blood, which landed on Mion's fur. Blood trickled out of his mouth and he tried to wipe it away with his wrist.

Mion allowed herself to let out another roar, much louder than before. This one caused the earth to shake and sent creatures scattering through out the woods, crying out in fear. Ryota fell to the ground, his body pressed against the bark. Slowly, he drifted his eyes up, gazing at the sky.

That's when he noticed something funny. Dark clouds were gathering at a fast rate, stitching together to form a sheet of darkness above them. A single drop of rain hit his noise, and then another one. And then, yet another one hit. He gasped as thousands of droplets of rain began to patter against the rocks at a quick pace. Wind burst through the area, shaking the branches of the trees and causing some to rip off.

Curiosity got the best of Keiichi as he felt the drops of rain patter against his skin. He looked up, drops of rain splattering in his eyes as he did so. Mion let out another ferocious roar, which sounded throughout the forest and shook it like an earthquake. Once it had faded, a rumble of thunder came from the sky.

Mion whipped her tail, bashing it against the earth. As soon as her tail came in contact with the ground, a bolt of lightning struck down nearby. The smell of smoke soon became apparent to the club members, and they looked to the forest to see what had happened. A glint of orange could just be seen a little while over, slowly growing and overtaking the green. Seeing the effect, Mion lashed her tail again, creating another bolt of lightning. She grinned evilly as she heard the sound of it crashing against the ground, igniting the nearby plants.

Rika let out a gasp. "That's it! That must be her power! She can control thunder and lightning!" she called out to the entire group.

Shion looked wide-eyed from the forest to the great creature in front of her. "But that doesn't make any sense!" she cried out, "Mion is scared of thunder and lightning! She's horrified of it!"

Ryota looked at Mion, who was standing there with a psychotic grin spread all over her face. "She doesn't LOOK horrified of it!" he called out to the girl, trying to hear her over the crashes of thunder and the heavy rainfall. "You see? She looks like she's having a blast!"

Keiichi gulped, his eyes trying to avoid the demon in front of him. A part of him didn't want to see it. He wasn't so scared of what she'd look like, he found that he was a little more scared what of what he'd think of her one he saw her in such a form. Would their relationship ever be the same? He gulped, knowing that he had to look. Mion was a demon. It was a fact that he had accepted a long time ago. He needed to accept his club leader for who she was and what she was. And he knew on the inside that he'd never be able to do that if he didn't look.

Slowly, he turned his gaze towards Mion, taking a deep breath as he did so. The sight that he saw before him surprised him. She was not ugly, she was not hideous, and she wasn't _too_ scary. Standing there in the rain, he observed her, watching as pelts of rain hit her fur and rain down her slender body. She was breathing heavily, her mouth partially open.

Sensing his gaze on her, she turned to meet his eyes. Mion was surprised when she sensed only a small amount of fear, and her eyes grew wide. And yet, all the same, she let out a small whimper. She wished that he had never seen her like this, and she wished that he had just stayed back in Hinamizawa while she silently killed Rena. Things wouldn't ever be the same between them, that for sure.

He gazed down her body, finding that it was much better than he expected it to be from the moment Rika brought up her true form. He had been prepared for the worst. He had been prepared to see a giant, hideous, horrifying demon in front of him. And yet, while she was still a little scary, he found her to be less than he imagined. Getting past the fear gained simply from her existence, she was hardly scary. In fact, she looked much better than he had imagined. Much better than he had imagined.

"Mion," Keiichi whispered to her.

"…K-Kei-chan," she spoke back, surprised to find that her voice sounded the same as her human form.

Keiichi smiled sadly at her. And then, with a deep breath, he spoke.

"You're beautiful, Mion," he spoke.

Surprise could be seen in those eyes of hers, those almost unreadable eyes of hers. She looked away, embarrassed. Keiichi smiled warmly at her, now finding her easy to look at. She said nothing in response, but Keiichi could tell that she was thanking him on the inside from her body language.

"You're welcome," said Keiichi.

However, their moment could only last so long. Mion soon caught sight of Rena, and her emotions turned back to rage. She whipped around to look at her, growling loudly. Rena let out a yelp, but she did not run. "Mi-chan," she said. "Why won't you turn back to normal? Why won't you listen to us?"

Mion narrowed her eyes. "There is nothing for me to understand!" she cried out. Then, she let her tail whip over and over again, sending crashes of lightning and roars of thunder out over and over again. She lunged forward with her paw, her sharp claws sticking out. They caught on her flesh, creating a huge gash on her skin. Rena jumped back, clutching the wound made. Her white dress was stained in splatters of crimson blood every here and there, some splotches older than other.

"Stop it!" she yelled out over the thunder. "Stop it already, Mi-chan! You're going to kill one of us, and then you're going to regret it!"

Mion narrowed her eyes. "Me? Regret killing you?" she said. Then, she let out a psychotic laugh; unchanged from the one she had in her half-demon form. "What a load of shit! Don't you understand why I'm like this?" she questioned the girl, stepping up to get closer to her. She circled around the girl, brushing her tail against her skin. "I'm like this because of you. Because of you, Rena!" she yelled.

"That's your fault!" she cried to the demon. "If you would listen to me, you'd understand everything! I don't want you to be like this, Mi-chan! I want you to return to being the real Mi-chan, the Mi-chan I know and love!"

"SHUT UP!" screeched Mion. She raised a paw up high in the air, her claws aimed directly at her head.

"NO!" screamed Ryota as he jumped up to his feet, stumbling a little. "DON'T!"

"STOP IT, MION!" screamed Keiichi as he took a step forward. "I LOVE YOU, SO THERE'S NO REASON FOR YOU TO DO THIS. DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?"

Mion didn't hear him and the position of her claws remained unchanged. She was pinpointing the exact area she needed to stab for the instant kill. She wanted to make quick work of this pest so she could move on to her life with Keiichi right away. There would be no one to stand in their way anymore. They could love each other without worry.

"It's not working!" screamed Rika. "She's not listening at all!"

Shion hesitated. "Then, what do we do?" she asked the others.

Keiichi glanced about. Everyone stood there, having a loss of what to do. Their only plan wasn't working, leaving them with no strategy. With no strategy, it was just a helpless battle, one that could only end in death. He took a deep breath as he looked from person to person, and then to Mion.

"EVERYONE," he screamed out, "RETREAT!"

Everyone looked at him, confused. They hesitated a little, but then they decided to act quickly and make a run for it. Satoko and Rika scurried away into the forest as fast as they could. Shion gave her sister one last look with tears welling up in her eyes before she turned around and dashed into the forest, leaving her behind. Ryota ran for the forest, but then halted in his tracks.

Rena was still struggling, Mion's claws still positioned in front of her. "Rena-chan!" he cried out to her, "run away, now!"

Rena looked into Mion's eyes, gasping as she got a closer look. It really did look as if she had no soul. Then, with a deep breath, she turned around and ran away as fast as she could, just missing Mion's claws slicing through the area she had been standing in. Confirming that she was okay, Ryota ran into the forest as well.

Keiichi did not run right away, however. He stood there, looking at Mion with sad eyes. She returned the same sorrowful look, whimpering a little. Rain pattered down on her, soaking her green fur. To Keiichi, she looked like a stray kitten with no home. He couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her, but right now, he couldn't stay with her.

"Don't you worry," he told her, "I'll be back."

And, with that, he followed the others into the woods, leaving behind a sorrowful Mion.

~~~~X~~~~

**Crimso's Corner.**

**Today was the last day of classes. I feel so empty on the inside for some reason, yet, I feel happy. I failed my History test, by the way. Well, at least I think I did. I should have studied more. Instead, I was writing this chapter for you guys. But you know what? Writing this chapter was funnier than studying. Besides, I got it finished rather quickly. I have no regrets, other than the fact that I think this chapter was really, really, really… urgh. Not as I hoped, okay? Maybe I'm just beat because I've been writing for such a long time, but seriously. If you were confused at all, message me. There's really only so much I can do with a chapter full of endless fighting. Sigh. I also wrote a bit of this in Spanish, History, Spanish, and… English. Yeah. I turned to my friend in history class and wrote, "SHE IS TURNING INTO A DEMON CAT THING." She laughed at me and wrote, "I love how that sound so silly out of context…"**

**Yeah, Mion is a giant, green lynx/saber-toothed tiger. That may seem a little random, but you remember those cats she had when she was little? Yeah. And look, her fear of thunder and lightning is being used for something other than fluff! Ahaha! I'll leave it to you to figure out why I did that. It's some kind of symbolism that's a little confusing for me to explain. And I realize that Keiichi failed at confessing again. Well, it wasn't his fault. Mion goes berserk every time she sees Rena, which really isn't her fault either. Seriously, don't be mad at him. Also, I realize he called her true form beautiful. Let me just say it's certainly better than a lot of demons. Remember what the demons in the book liked like? Like… that tentacle pig? Yeah, a creepy cat thing is better than that. Besides, Mion's true form is rather pretty (maybe that's just me, because I love cats). So there. **

**Ah… today was awesome! I went to the movies with my friend, and we ran into one of my other friends on the street and he joined us. Awesome, man. Just wanted to add that in there, Ahaha. Oh yeah, I think there'll be three more chapters after this. Don't take my word for it, though. I'm almost positive there is three, though. **

**As always, please review! Reviews motivate me! Reviewers get a plushie of Mion's true form. I love you all, really. I have to wake up at 7 AM in the morning to go on a sailing trip, so I'll have to leave this here. I still have to take a shoooower.  
~Crimso**


	35. Chapter 34: Showdown

**Hello there. I should have started writing this yesterday, but I was on a sailing trip during school and stuff. Actually, I got out at normal time, but I woke up early and was so tired that I pretty much collapsed as soon as I got home. The sailing trip was epic win, by the way. Except for the part where we sat in the park for two hours.  
School is pretty much over. We're going to see a movie on Monday and then on Tuesday we have to go to the graduation, even though I'm not graduating. Oh well, at least there's no more homework or tests!**

**~34~**

~~~~X~~~~

Seven figures ran through the woods, dashing as fast as they could. They tried to avoid the trees that blocked their path as they ran about faster than any one of them had done before. The one in front of the group looked behind at the others, making sure that they were all there and that none of them had been left behind. Every one of them seemed determined to get home as fast as they could after witnessing such a horrid battle.

"Where are we going?" cried Satoko as she ducked under a low branch. "Are we going home?"

Keiichi nodded. "Yeah, we're going to go back to Hinamizawa for now, I think," he spoke, "some of us need to rest for a little bit." He glanced behind him at Rena, who was stumbling behind them all, clutching her wounds.

Rena was finding it hard to stand after losing so much blood. She was by far the one most injured by the battle they had had a few minutes before. Her dress was stained by crimson and her arms were littered with scars created by Mion's scratching and slashing. Her vision was slowly growing blurry as she stumbled forward, trying to stay on her two legs.

"Wait for Rena, everyone!" cried Rika as she halted in place. She whipped around so that she could get a good view of the injured orange-haired girl behind her, feeling worried about her injuries. It was possible that she couldn't even walk to Hinamizawa on her own two legs. "She's really hurt!"  
Everyone halted at once and turned around to take a good look at Rena, who was now kneeling on the floor, breathing heavily as she did so. "My vision is so blurry, blurry," she spoke as she looked up at the others. "Is that you, Shi-chan?"

Shion was standing directly in front of her, her eyes wide with fear. While Rena was the one who had received the most psychical damage, Shion was the one who would be scarred forever mentally. Seeing her twin sister in such a form and in a way so different from herself had shaken her mind up to the point where she could barely think anymore. She was looking at Rena's scars with fear, knowing that her twin sister was the cause of them.

Keiichi slowly walked up to her, kneeling down so that he was the same height as her. He glanced at her scars, wincing when he saw them. There were just so many of them. They looked exactly like the scars that Etsuko had when he had pulled up her sleeves. "Wow, Rena, are you all right?" he asked the girl, grabbing her arm gently so he could take a better look at the scars.

Rena nodded. "I… I think I'll be okay. I think I just need to rest for a few hours, though," she told the others, looking down at the wounds on her hands. "It would be nice if I could sleep until tomorrow…"

Keiichi gestured for the rest of the club to sit down, which they did. The figures formed a circle, everyone with their eyes around Rena. "I think we need to discuss what we're going to do right now," he spoke to everyone, causing his or her attention to shift to him. "We need to think a little about this situation."

Rika nodded at him in agreement. "I think so too," she said, looking up at the sky. Rain was still falling, and the sky was still a pitch-black. However, the crashes of lightning had ceased along with the roars of thunder, indicating that Mion had calmed just a little since they had left. "First of all, Mion seems to have calmed down. She was the one controlling all that lightning, and it's not happening anymore," she said, pointing up at the sky.

They all looked up, also noticing that the rain was not falling as heavily as before. "Yeah, I can see what you're saying," Ryota said as droplets of rain splattered against his face, rolling down off his soft skin and to the ground. "However, I think that because it's still raining, it means that Mion-san is still angry," he spoke.

Rika nodded. "Yeah, it wouldn't be like Mion to just suddenly calm down after turning into… that thing," she spoke, remembering the giant, green lynx with the teeth of a saber-toothed tiger. "At least it wasn't something worse," she mumbled to herself, remembering the demons she had seen in the book.

Satoko crossed her arms, looking about the group. "No matter what, I think that we shouldn't go back there today," she said, "besides, we're all worn out and we haven't slept in a forever. Rena-san probably needs some rest, too."

"Maybe Onee will calm down a little more, too," Shion muttered.

Rena looked about. "Would you really wait a little for me, for me?" she spoke, looking around at her friends. "R-Rena… needs to rest a little," she said, gesturing to her wounds, the amount of blood leaking out slowly decreasing. "After all, I've lost quite a bit of blood and I haven't slept in a while. It's still Watanagashi…"

Rika winced. It seemed like it had been years since they were at the Watanagashi festival, playing around at the stands and having eating competitions. Yet, it was still the same, dreaded day. She had hardly gotten any sleep the night before since she stayed up worrying about what was to happen to them. "I think we should go back and take a good rest," she agreed. "We can all sleep at my house to make things a little easier. We'll tend to Rena's wounds there."

Ryota titled his head to the side. "Why don't we just get a doctor? I'm afraid we might not be able to help her," he said, glancing over to the girl he liked. He hated seeing her in so much pain, and now feared for her life. There was no way he wanted to lose her.

"Like the director?" Satoko said, imagining herself being chased by Irie while he tried to convince her to wear a maid outfit for her.

"You mean the creepy guy who likes to make little girls wear maid outfits?" Ryota asked, recalling the faded memory of Irie.

Satoko nodded. "Yeah," she muttered, "that guy…"

Instantly, Rika shook her head. "No," she said to the others. "As much as I'd like to, I think that taking Rena to Irie-sensei would be a bad idea," she spoke. She used a single finger to point at Rena's scars. "You see those? Etsuko had the same ones, as Mion was the one who killed her. I told Akasaka Katashi to bring his dad over to her dead body, so Irie will probably be there to check it out as well to check the cause of death. If Rena appears with the same ones, he might ask Rena who caused those scars or something similar," she explained to them. "I want to avoid telling other people about Mion's true form."

They looked at each other, unsure if they should abandon the idea of getting professional help for Rena to protect Mion's secret. Then again, Rika's explanation made perfect sense to them. In the end, they decided to go with her idea and tend to Rena themselves. It would be hard for them to explain how Mion transformed into a demon cat and scratched them to death. Not only that, but they wouldn't really want to explain it in the first place.

"Then, it's decided. We'll go back to Rika's house and sleep there for the night. After that we'll come up with a new plan since the old one didn't work out," Keiichi said, looking around to make sure that everyone was listening to them. "Then, we'll execute that plan and we'll save Mion for sure!" he cried out.

All at once, all the club members nodded. They stuck their fists up in the air, raising them high. "Yeah!"

And so, the seven of them set off down the hills, supporting Rena's body as they did so. The rain was beginning to calm down a little, though the droplets were still heavy. They were all pretty much soaked by this point, but they knew that they had to carry on. They needed to get home. As they went along the way, each and every one of them thought about how they were going to turn Mion back to normal. The last plan, Keiichi confessing to Mion, was a complete failure. Mion was just too distracted by Rena to hear him.

Keiichi had to wonder if it was even possible to turn her back to normal. What if she would never turn to normal? What if she was doomed to forever remain in the form of a demonic lynx? Keiichi hated that thought. He'd still love her, of course, but he couldn't picture himself doing anything romantic with her. He couldn't really kiss her and they couldn't really go on dates if she was in that form. He could imagine snuggling with her, but he couldn't do anything else. He gulped, then wondering how the club would be. They couldn't play card games or board games when she was like that! It was impossible. She didn't have any hands!

Keiichi tried to push that thought out of his mind. Surely he'd turn Mion back to normal. Surely there was a way to do so.

…Right?

It took them a little while, but they managed to reach the house of Rika and Satoko without much trouble. Rika welcomed them inside. They all found the feeling of being inside after such a long time comforting. There were no more heavy drops of rain pounding on their heads. With a sigh, they all sat down at the table that was located near the kitchen for further planning.

"All right, let's talk this out a little," Rika spoke to the others. "There are two floors. The girls will sleep on the top floor, and Keiichi and Ryota have to sleep downstairs. At no time are the boys allowed upstairs or are the girls allowed downstairs. We'll let you know when we get dressed. Same for you, boys," she said, glancing from Ryota to Keiichi. "Now, I don't think I have enough futons for you all. I have one for me, one for Satoko, one for Rena, one for Shion… uh… Ryota was using one… and I don't have one for Keiichi."

Keiichi looked alarmed. "W-Wait a moment, does that mean I have to share a futon with someone?" he asked, looking around at the others.

Rika shook her head. "Ur… I'll share one with Satoko. Rena can use Satoko's," she said to the others. "If you don't mind, Satoko,"

Satoko glanced over at Rika. "No, I don't mind at all," she replied.

"Good. Then, are we all good?" she asked the others.

"No. What do we sleep in?" asked Shion.

Rika paused. She hadn't thought about that. There really wasn't much she could do at this point. After all, none of them really wanted to go running in the rain through that forest and back. "Uh, I'm sorry, but I guess you're going to have to sleep in what you're wearing right now, if that's okay with you guys," she murmured.

"Well, it was fine for me from the beginning," spoke Shion, "I was just worried about Rena, seeing as how her clothing is coated with blood and all that."

Rika looked over to Rena, who was soaked with both blood and rain. She winced at the sight, feeling bad that there wasn't much she could really do about her. "Rena, I think you should lie down in the futon right now," she said to her. "Shion, Satoko, if you could go to the bathroom and get the bandages, I would be really happy. Then, you should bandage her wounds up," she told them.

Shion and Satoko nodded before they both stood up and wandered over to the bathroom. Rika grinned as she turned back to the others. "I'll help you up the stairs, Rena. Ryota and Keiichi should just stay down here for now."

They both nodded as Rika took Rena's hand gently, guiding her up the stairs to her room. Rena had a little trouble walking up, but she didn't need so much help. She sat down in Satoko's futon and lay down, taking a deep breath out of relief. It had felt like a forever since she had lay down. She closed her eyes, basking in the joy of relaxing. Rika smiled, thankful that she'd be okay.

It wasn't much later when Satoko and Shion walked in with the bandages. "Just bandage any area that's bleeding," she instructed them. "If you'll excuse me for a little bit…"

Rika wandered over to the window in the wall and climbed up on the windowsill. She sat down on it, gazing at the moon through the thick, black clouds that were slowly disappearing. She let out a large sigh as she continued to stare at it, contemplating the events of that day as well as the nearby future. What could they possibly do to save Mion? She didn't quite know.

"Hanyuu," she whispered ever so quietly, "what do we do?"

The faded goddess shook her head, letting out a sigh. "I don't know, Rika," she said to her. "I honestly have no idea."  
Rika shot her an annoyed glare. "But aren't you a goddess, Hanyuu? Shouldn't you know what to do you? You of all people should know!" she snapped at her, trying to be as quiet as possible. She gave a quick glance to Satoko and Shion to make sure that they hadn't heard her before returning her stern, angry gaze to Hanyuu.

Hanyuu let out a sigh. "Rika, you can't be so dependent on me," she told her. "I may be a goddess, but that doesn't mean anything. I'm no better than you are."

"B-But!" cried Rika.

"No!" Hanyuu said, instantly cutting off any of her protests and silencing her. "No, Rika. As I said before, you're being to dependent on me. You've always been a little too dependent on me, and now, I'm telling you that you have to decide what you're going to do for yourself. Of course I'll help, but," she spoke, looking away. "I… I don't think there's anything we can do to save her."

Rika looked alarmed, for a moment believing that her words true. "No, there's got to be a way! We'll certainly save Mion. We will, we have to!" she cried out to the goddess.

Then, she decided to cease conversation with her. It wasn't doing her any good, and she couldn't risk one of her friends noticing that she was having a conversation with someone who seemed to not be there. Letting out another sigh, she gazed up at the sky. The silver rays shined down on her, the black clouds parting away to reveal the glistening stars. She placed a hand gently on the windowpanes, gazing at the barely visible reflection in it.

"I wonder… I wonder if there really isn't a way," she whispered.

Satoko placed the bandages down on the ground with a sigh. She glanced over her friend, smiling at her. She was now calm, a smile on her face. Upon further inspection, she had discovered that her injuries weren't too bad and that she should be able to move around just fine after a few hours of rest (or so she supposed, anyways).

"Rika, it looks like she'll be fine!" she cried out to the girl in the windowsill.

Rika slid her body off of the window, blinking down at the orange-haired girl on the futon. She walked up to her, giving her a closer look. "Rena, are you sure you'll be okay?" she asked the girl.

"She'll be fine," Shion spoke up, "just give her a few hours of rest and it'll all be good."

Rika gave the girl an unsure look, but then decided to believe in Shion. It would be fine, wouldn't it? She just had to believe in everything for now. That was the key to success. She let out a small yawn as she walked away, sitting down on her futon. She craved wine, but she knew that it would be inappropriate to drink it with so many people around. She slowly burred her tiny figure under the soft blankets, snuggling into the pillow.

"We'll save Mion," she whispered to herself, "for sure, we'll save her."

~~~~X~~~~

Morning came slower than Rika had anticipated. Her friends had fallen asleep almost immediately, exhausted from having stayed up so late in the night without any sleep. Rika, on the other hand, stayed up late worrying and coming up with plans. She had come up with one thing, but she decided that it wasn't a really good plan and tossed that idea out the window almost instantly.

Shion, Rena, and Satoko were sound asleep, enjoying the warmth of their futons. She gave a quick glance to the clock, discovering that it was around ten AM. It was certainly time to wake them up. She slowly pushed herself out of the covers and staggered to her feet, then stretching her muscles. She let out a small yawn before she poked Satoko in the stomach.

"Five more minutes," mumbled a sleep Satoko from under the covers. She began to kick and shift uncomfortably, grumbling as she burred her face into her pillow.

Rika let out a large sigh as she poked Satoko once again. When she made no movement, she rolled her eyes and began to poke her over and over again until her whole body began to flail. "Satoko, we have to get up right now!" she cried out to the girl. "Satoko, get up right now! I really mean it, Satoko!"

Satoko shot up, giving Rika sleepy glance as she did so. She rubbed her purple eyes once before letting out a huge yawn, stretching her arms out as she did so. "What time is it, Rika?" she asked her in a tired voice. "I wanted to sleep a little more…"

"Ten in the morning," she answered her friend, "it's time to wake up. We have a friend to save and there's no time to waste."

After Satoko got out of bed, Rika crawled over to Shion and began to shake her body until her green eyes fluttered open. She gave Rika a tired look, but she didn't waste any time. She stretched her body and stood up on her two legs, knowing exactly why Rika had gotten up so early. It was now time for them to eat and plot their plans. Then, they'd have to go save Mion.

"I'll go cook some breakfast," Rika told her. "You go wake Rena up," she ordered the green-haired girl.

Shion nodded before she crawled over to Rena's futon. Giving them one last look, she began to descend down the stairs. Before she did so, however, she placed her hands to her mouth to form a cup around them. "Ryota, Keiichi!" she cried out to the two boys who were sleeping downstairs. "It's time for you guys to wake up!"

She heard some shifting from downstairs, and then she went down the rest of the steps. Ryota and Keiichi were sitting up in their futon, tired looks on both of their faces. Keiichi rubbed his eyes before he gave Rika a look, smiling a little through that exhausted face of his. Ryota was finding it hard to pull himself out of the comfort of the futon, but he eventually did.

"Hello, Rika," Keiichi greeted her.

"Hello, Keiichi," she said to him. "It's ten in the morning right now. I'm going to go make some eggs. I hope you like eggs," she said to him. "Ryota, please be ready soon. I know you're tired, but we have a friend to go save."

He nodded his head. "All right, just give me two minutes and I'll be ready," he mumbled as he pulled himself across the floor and to a cushion placed in front of the table. Rika grinned before she turned around to go upstairs and cook eggs for her waiting friends, knowing that she had to be quick. They could discuss while eating, but Rika was more worried about what Mion would be doing while she was out. What if she had invaded Hinamizawa? No, if she didn't, they would probably know already.

She yawned as she cracked an egg and poured its contents on to the frying pan, hearing a sizzle come out from the pan. She narrowed her eyes as she watched it carefully, murmuring a few things to herself as she did so. She then cracked another egg on a separate pan and waited for that one to cook all the way.

"Rika," whispered Hanyuu as she appeared next to her. "Do you think any of the others have come up with any ideas?" she asked her.

Rika shook her head. "Hopefully they have, but I don't think they have seeing as they fell asleep so quickly," she spoke as she took an egg off of the pan with a spatula before putting it on a plate. "We'll certainly come up with something, though. That's just the spirit of our club," she reassured the goddess.

"Au au," whispered Hanyuu before she disappeared, allowing Rika to finish cooking her eggs in peace.

Once she had finished cooking enough eggs for the seven of them, she took two plates in her hands and went downstairs, placing them on the table. She went back up and down with two more, and did this until each and every one of them had a plate in front of them. They were all seated at the table by this time.

"I decided to cook eggs, because they're really easy," she explained to the rest of them. "I hope you don't mind something so… Ur…"

Keiichi laughed. "Oh, it's all right. We need to discuss a few things right now," he said to her. "I don't mind a quick breakfast, even though I'm not a really big fan of eggs."

Rika nodded as she began to eat her eggs slowly, wincing a little at the taste. She herself was not a big fan, but she decided that she'd just deal with it and eat it as fast as she could. "So," she spoke after taking a gulp of her egg, "have you guys come up with any plans at all?" she asked them all.

Rena swallowed what with in her mouth and then shook her head. "No. I don't really know very much about demons and true forms and that kind of stuff you were explaining to us," she said to her. "I think it would be better if we had information on them. There's surely some place that says how to turn a demon back into their human form!"

Keiichi glanced over to Rika. "Don't you know anything about demons? You were the one who explained the whole true form thing to us before," he asked the blue-haired miko sitting across from him.

Rika looked behind her back, giving a glance to Hanyuu who sat behind her with a worried look on her face. "I think it would be a good idea to see if we could find any information," she said, speaking to the goddess behind her though loud enough so that the others could hear it. "I do know a little bit of information, but otherwise…"

"Well then, tell us all you know," Shion said before she went to picking at her egg, staring at it with disgusted eyes.

Rika let out a large sigh. "Well, there was a tale that used to be shared throughout all of Onifaguchi. However, in the last few years, it has been long forgotten amongst the people. This tale is called the Tale of Sonozaki Ayame," she explained to the club members.

"The Tale of Sonozaki Ayame," Shion repeated. "You know, Mion was telling me something about that earlier. She said that she'd tell it to me one day. Also, she mentioned it having to do with twins in the Sonozaki family," she said.

Rika nodded her head. "Yes, it has to do with twins, but we'll get to that part a little later. I won't tell you the whole thing, but I will summarize the tale as best as I can," she told the others.

"Is it really long?" Satoko asked while she still had a mouthful of egg. "Because it might be a little confusing if you don't tell the whole thing."

Ryota winced at Satoko's lack of table manners. "Er, I think it should be okay if she just explains it to us. We don't have very much time and who knows what Mion-san is doing in the woods all by herself. She could have killed some random wanderer for all we know!" he said.

"Yeah, it's a little long," she said. "So I'm just going to summarize."

Rika gave all the club members seated at the table a long glance to make sure that all of them were listening to her carefully. This could be the time where they came up with ideas and the part where they would finally be able to come up with a flawless plan to save their club leader from her horrifying true form, a part of her that they would rather not spend the rest of their lives staring at. Just as she was about to open her mouth, however, they heard someone knock on the door.

"Excuse me," murmured Rika as she stood up and walked over to the door. She slowly pulled it open, revealing a tall, masculine figure behind it. He was smiling down at her.

"Hello, Rika-chan," he greeted.

"Akasaka!" cried Rika, mostly out of surprise. She hadn't been expecting him to show up at this moment. For a few seconds, she considered the idea of getting him to help her with Mion. The idea of telling him was a risky one, but with adult help, they should be able to conquer Mion's true form and save her from a terrible fate. Besides, Akasaka was a very strong man and could surely give them a whole load of help with fighting or anything related that they might need to do. "What are you doing here?" she asked him.

"I heard about that girl who was killed," he said to her, "my son told me he showed you and that you told me to contact me. So, here I am."

Rika grinned. "I'm glad you're here, Akasaka! We have a huge issue on our hands and it has to do with the murder," she said. Then, for a few moments, she paused, looking up at him with a grim expression. "I know you're a police officer, but could you do me a huge favor and not tell anyone about what I say here? It might be a little… unbelievable. But I assure you that everything I tell you is true."

Akasaka gave her an unsure glance. "Well, I'm not sure if I can do that," he murmured.

Rika looked upset. "Well, Akasaka, you'll understand why you can't tell anyone when I tell you what happened. It'll all make sense to you. Then, you won't tell anyone. So will you do me a huge favor and sit down with us?" she requested, pointing to the table where everyone was busy finishing up their breakfast.

He scratched the back of his head. "Uh, I guess I can, if it's you…"

He went inside the house and took a seat at the table, gazing at all the club members. He was surprised when he didn't see Sonozaki Mion, their club leader, sitting with them, but he didn't make any comments. Surely Rika would explain everything to her including her absence from the group. He settled down and watched as the others finished up their breakfast (save for Shion, who spent the whole time poking at her eggs). When they were done, Rika pushed her plate to the side and smiled up at him.

"Well, I guess I have to explain everything to you first, then?" she spoke.

Akasaka nodded. "That would be nice."

"All right then," she spoke, "it goes a little like this…"

Rika opened her mouth and began to explain everything to Akasaka. She told him all about how Etsuko had tricked Mion into believing that she and Rena were in love with Keiichi, she told him all about why Etsuko had bothered doing this in the first place including the incident from seven years ago, she told him all about how Mion grew jealous slowly, she told him all about how she had finally killed her, and she told him all about how she was now looking for Rena and about her transformation into her true form. Akasaka gasped at all the right places, surprised that something like demons actually existed and that Sonozaki Mion herself was one.

"…And that's the problem here, Akasaka. We need to turn Mion back to normal so that we can play with her again, but," she looked a little sad, "we tried to get Keiichi to confess his feelings to her, but that didn't work. She was too distracted by Rena to listen to what he was saying to her."

Akasaka crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "Hm… well it would help if I knew a little more about this whole true form thing…" he murmured.

Rika grinned. "Well, I was about to explain The Tale of Sonozaki Ayame to everyone in this room when you walked it. It's an old story of Onifaguchi that used to be famous around the villagers. No one knows about it now, know. It has a lot to do with demons and true forms as well as the Sonozaki family. I'm not telling you guys the whole thing, though," she said. "It's much to long for that. However, I am going to summarize everything you need to know."

He nodded. "All right, would you begin, then?" he requested.

"All right. Beginning, now," she said. Rika took a deep breathing, knowing that she'd have a lot to explain if she were to include all the important details. "A long, long time ago, there was an evil demon named Madoka. She was a very bad demon who had claws and fangs. She had been terrorizing Onifaguchi for months, killing off human after human. The leader of the village, Kimiyoshi Toshi, was not a very good leader. He forced a bunch of men against their will to keep watch for the demon and fight her when she appeared. Many men could not fight, and as such, they were killed in seconds," she began to explain.

"Now, there was a young woman named Sonozaki Ayame at that time. She was the heiress of the Sonozaki family, and her father, Sonozaki Takeshi, was the current head. At this time, the Sonozaki family was looked down upon by the Furude family and the Kimiyoshi family as the weakest of the three great families. So one day, Sonozaki Takeshi got a great idea. He'd go off and slay Madoka and give the Sonozaki family the pride they needed so badly," she spoke, going over her words in her head to make sure that she didn't leave a single detail out.

"However, his attempts failed. Madoka soon returned, causing Ayame some great panic. She informed her identical twin sister, Sonozaki Hana, that she was going to finish up her father's work. She went up the hills with a single weapon, a knife, and searched the area for Madoka. When she ran into her, she attacked her. However, she soon discovered that the girl was not Madoka at all. She was Sayuri, Madoka's identical twin sister. There, she told her all about Madoka as well as true forms. At the end of her explanation, she offered to let Ayame absorb her and become a demon to give her the strength she needed to slay Madoka, something that she had wanted to do herself for ages. She accepted, and thus, became a demon. Sayuri told her something, however. There wouldn't be another demon in the Sonozaki family unless there was a pair of twins born. If there were, then one of them would not be human, but a demon." Rika spoke. She took a deep breath, knowing that she hadn't even finished half of the story.

"Madoka was surprised when she met face to face with Ayame, discovering that she had become a demon. She was a little shocked at first, but that did not let her down. Ayame had a new strength now, and she found it easy to keep up with Madoka's demonic strength and her attacks. However, Madoka grew angry. She suddenly transformed into her true form, a mix of many animals. However, this did not last long. Ayame soon managed to cut her head off using her father's katana as well as Madoka's katana, which was said to contain the spirits of a thousand demons. She was the victor. She returned to Onifaguchi, where she was crowned a hero. She had finally given the Sonozaki family the respect it craved for."

Keiichi tilted his head to the side. "Wait a moment, is that it?" he asked her. "I didn't really see too much about true forms and transformation there. Surely there's something else," he spoke.

Rika nodded. "Yes, there is a second part to this tale. I will tell you that now," she spoke to the others. "You see, fifteen years later, she was living a life of luxury in the newfound pride of the Sonozaki family. She had had a daughter with her husband a few years ago, and named her Sonozaki Rion. She made sure she raised her daughter to fight well and all that stuff to make sure she was fit for the new, strong Sonozaki family. However, Sonozaki Hana was not like her sister. She spent her whole life being lazy and took up the hobby of cooking, something she enjoyed. Sonozaki Ayame ran into Kimiyoshi Toshi one day, telling him that everyone in the Sonozaki family was strong and a good fighter. She was challenged and told to bring Sonozaki Hana into the Kimiyoshi Manor to fight in front of his eyes," she explained to the people.

"Sonozaki Rion tried to help her, and soon Sonozaki Hana managed to gain some skill, but not enough. She failed to impress Kimiyoshi Toshi, leaving Sonozaki Ayame enraged. When she got home, she became so upset with the destruction of the pride of the Sonozaki family; she killed her husband and her sister. Sonozaki Rion walked in on this mess, and became afraid of her mother. Ayame came to her senses and held her daughter in her arms. Then, she explained the whole story to her, about how she was a demon and how her demonic side had taken over her and killed the two. She then ordered her daughter to kill her, which she did. Sonozaki Rion promised that she'd never allow a pair of twins to be born into the Sonozaki family, creating the rule," she said to them.

"…And that's how it ends," she finished. Her breaths were heavy and she found that her mouth was a little dry from talking so much. She took a deep breath, relieved that she had finished.

"What did Sayuri tell Ayame about the true forms?" Keiichi asked her curiously. "That could have some information…"

Rika let out a sigh before she explained the whole of Sayuri and Sonozaki Ayame's conversation to the rest of them, which was chock full of information on true forms. Their eyes were wide throughout the whole telling of the tale, knowing that all this information also applied to their dear leader.

"Hold on a moment!" cried Keiichi, "doesn't that mean that we have to…?"

Rika shook her head. "I'm sure there's some other way. And I'm sure you guys have ideas now, so let's discuss."

And so, the club members discussed, and discussed, and discussed. Each and every idea that came up within the first hour or so had holes, and they had to shoot them down. However, that didn't mean they were totally terrible ideas. They used those ideas to come to one, big idea. There was some yelling and arguing when the idea was brought up, and tons of panic, but every one of them realized something.

They may have not liked the idea, but on the inside, they knew, it was the only way.

"I'm not going to do it!" cried one club member, "no way, no way am I going to do it!"

"Listen, I don't want to either!" cried another club member, "but it's the decision we have come to. It's the only way we can!"

A club member nodded. "She is… right…"

With a large sigh, one of the club members looked about the table. "Have we come to a decision?" she asked them all.

Slowly, they all nodded.

"All right, then. Let's move."

And so, finally, the club members decided on what they were to do.

And unfortunately, it wasn't the plan they wanted.

But in the end, they all knew.

It was the only way.

~~~~X~~~~

Mion prowled about the forest of Hinamizawa, finding that there wasn't much to do. She lashed her tail against a tree, causing the tree to fall down to the ground, crashing into another one in the process. She let out a growl as she felt a branch prick her paw. "Damn," she hissed as she flicked the branch away, sending it flying over the forest. She glanced up at the sun, narrowing her green eyes as she felt the bright rays hit them.

She wasn't exactly sure where she was anymore. She had passed the camping ground and was now somewhere on the descent down the mountain, but she wasn't sure otherwise. She grumbled as she smacked into a tree, tempted to knock that one down as swell. However, she decided to ignore it as she continued on her pursuit for the one person who was screwing her life up.

"Where are you, Rena?" the giant demon hissed as she wandered about the forest. "When I get my paws on you, I will surely kill you…"  
She suddenly halted as she heard chatting coming from nearby. She bent down low to the ground and crawled forward, narrowing her eyes. Nearby were two policemen, chatting to each other.

"How do you think she died?" one of the policemen spoke.

"Maybe with a knife?" suggested the other policeman.

The previous policeman sighed. "I don't know. They must have had a lot of knifes to make five perfectly straight lines like that," he spoke. "Though I guess that a knife is possible. Maybe a weapon with a larger blade. Although those were scars from a long time ago and probably not what killed her. I wonder how they opened her chest up like that?"

"This is a very confusing case. Don't you think so, too? I wonder who was sick and twisted enough to rip a girl's heart right out and throw it against a tree," sighed one of the policemen, placing his hands on his hips as he gazed up at the sky.

"I know," sighed the other, "people these days, huh?"

Mion felt a little annoyed that someone had found out about Etsuko, but it was bound to happen, right? She felt a little bothered by the policeman's words, as well. They were calling her sick and twisted? No way was she sick and twisted! She was just punishing pests that deserved punishment! She couldn't help but let out a growl, something that caused the policemen to turn around and look at the trees.

"Uh... do you see that, Tanaka-san?" spoke one of the policeman as he pointed at Mion's glowing, green eyes. "They look kind of like eyes but… they don't have any pupils."

The policeman nodded. "Uh… yeah. I see that, Sato… maybe I should take a closer look?" he said.

"You do that," the other police officer spoke.

The policeman nodded as he began to walk towards Mion. Mion, however, stood her ground. If they found her, she could just kill them without any problems. The policeman rubbed the back of his head as he walked forward, then bumping into Mion's furry figure. He gasped as he looked at her, his eyes wide as he realized that the thing he had bumped into was certainly not a human at all.

"My gosh, Sato! It's a gigantic cat with horns and freaky teeth!" he cried out.

The other policeman laughed. "Oh Tanaka, what are you on this time? Giant cats with horns and giant fangs? Yeah right," he laughed once again, clutching his chest to control his hysterical laughter. "Oh boy, what a sight that must be! Ohoho!"

"But I'm serious!" cried the policeman as he stared into those evil, glowing eyes which were now looking very angry. "There's a demon lynx here! Take a look for yourself!" he yelled out as he pointed towards a disturbed Mion.

Annoyed, Mion raised her paw high in the air with her claws unsheathed before she brought it down on the policeman's side, skewering him. She held up his punctured body before throwing it at the unsuspecting policeman. It hit him directly, knocking him over.

"Man, Tanaka, what was tha-" he began to speak before realizing that blood was flowing onto him. He gulped and threw the dead body off of him, his eyes wide. "Oh my god, there really is a demon cat!" he cried out as he stood up on two feet, staring right into Mion's eyes. He took a few steps backwards, looking from his dead companion to the demon with scared eyes.

"Nice demon kitty," he said as he backed up, "don't kill me, don't kill me…"

Mion stared at him, but said nothing. Blood was still dripping from her claws and forming a red puddle beneath her.

"Yes yes, good boy…" the policeman said.

Mion felt anger rise up inside of her. Did that policeman just call her male? She let out a large roar to show how angry she was, not used to being mistaken for the opposite gender. There was no way that the policeman would know when she was in _that _form. He let out a shriek and jumped up in the air, his hair blown back by the roar.

"Ah! I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?" he asked. "Man, he's an angry one all right!" he commented to himself as he glanced back behind his shoulder, ready to run for his life.

Annoyed, Mion ran forward and lunged for the surprised man, who promptly turned around and ran for his life. Mion let out large roars as she opened her mouth, readying her giant fangs for the kill. The man looked back behind his shoulder, his eyes wider than flying saucers as he continued to run as fast as he could. "W-What the heck is that thing! I've never seen anything like him before in my entire life!"

Mion swiped her claws and managed to scratch his back open, causing him to scream out in pain. He cried out as he fell to the ground, unable to stand up. Then, just before Mion brought her claws down on the guy, she said, "I'm a girl."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" the policeman cried out as he looked up upon the bloody claws that she held above him, threatening to puncture his body. Then, the realization dawned on him. "Oh hell, did she just talk?"

Mion growled as she stabbed her paw downward, sending blood splattering across as the man let out a dying shriek. She picked up the dead body in her mouth before she tossed it to the side, not caring one bit about the life she had just taken. With a sigh, she looked about the area, deciding what she should do next.

"Damn, I guess I'll just have to keep looking for Rena," she murmured.

She ran down the mountains until she reached the forest just outside Hinamizawa. She began to look around, wondering to herself if they had decided to hide from her and go home. She growled, annoyed at the very idea of that thought. There was no way she could just run into Hinamizawa in the daylight and try to murder someone. Surely just the very sight of her would surprise them.

Unbeknownst to her, from behind a tree, Rena, Ryota, and Rika were watching her with wide eyes.

"Do you see that?" Ryota said, pointing to her claws. "They're covered in blood!"

Rika felt her heart sink to her stomach. Who had she killed this time? Hopefully it wasn't someone important to them. "Man, we leave her for a day and she goes off and kills someone else," she murmured. "Luckily, it'll all be over once we finish this plan."

Rena nodded, pulling out a walkie-talky that Rika had found in her house. "Rena to Satoko. We've spotted the target. Over," she spoke into the walkie-talky.

"Satoko to Rena. Where is she? Over," a childish yet shrill voice spoke out from the other side of the walkie-talky.

"Rena to Satoko. She's close by the Saiguden. You know what the plan is. I'll come from the north, all right? Over," she spoke into the walkie-talkie before she slid it back into a pocket on her bloodstained white dress. "All right, so we know what to do now. I'll go out right now. Rika, Ryota-kun, be sure to watch my back carefully. I'll be fine… so don't worry! If she tries to attack, you know the plan. Just make sure she doesn't get too close."

Ryota looked a little unsure. "Rena-chan, are you sure you'll be all right?" he asked her. "If you really want, I'll be the one to do step one," he said.

Rena shook her head. "No, I'll be fine. Just watch my back and everything will turn out fine," she said to him. Then, giving them one last smile, she stepped out into the open where Mion could clearly see her. Mion's eyes instantly lit up with rage and angry the moment she set eyes on her. Rena could see her claws bury into the soft ground as if to prevent herself from killing Rena on the spot.

"Hey, Mi-chan!" she greeted her, grinning cutely. "How are you today? You're not looking so good!"

Mion growled at her. "Of course I'm not looking so good," she hissed, "I mean, have you taken a look at me since yesterday? Of course you have."

Rena giggled. "Oh, I was just playing with you Mi-chan," she laughed, causing Mion to grow very irritated with her. Rena stopped after a little bit and looked up at her, smiling. "Hey, Mi-chan. Rena has something very important to say to you, so would you listen to her just for a few seconds and put your thoughts of killing people away? It's very, very, very important and I'm sure you'll want to know what it is!"

Mion titled her head to the side. "And what would that be?" she growled at her, her tone unfriendly.

"Well, you see, this whole time you've been making a very terrible mistake. You see... you're under this strange impression that I'm in love with Keiichi. Well, right now, I want to tell you that I am not in love with Keiichi. Keiichi likes you, not me," she explained to her, looking up at her with dead seriousness in her expression. "Trust me on this one, okay?"

Mion did not look amused in the slightest. "Stop lying to me about this!" she yelled out to her, her tone full of a ferociousness that made Rena want to run away. "I know the truth, I know the truth! I know how much you love Kei-chan and how much you'd love to be with him! You even admitted it back a while ago in the cave!" she cried out to her, causing Rena to grow a little confused. "You were taunting me, saying how Kei-chan was yours and not mine! So stop lying when you say that you don't like Kei-chan, because I already know that it's true!"

Rena blinked in confusion. When did she say such a thing? She certainly didn't say it, that was for sure. "Look, Mi-chan, I don't know what you're talking abou-"

"STOP IT!" yelled Mion, cutting off any protests she had. "I know the truth, I've been telling you that for ages!" she yelled out to the world. A giant gray cloud formed over them, blocking off the sun from view. More clouds began to drift in at a rapid pace and soon covered the sky in a blanket of gray. Raindrops fell heavily onto them both. With a yowl, Mion swished her tail about. She whipped it against the ground and a bolt of lightning shot down from the sky, striking the land.

Rena felt the whole area illuminate in a white hue, causing her to fall backwards. Fire broke out nearby, sending a cloud of smoke over to them. Mion let out more cries as she whipped her tail about in the air, lightning crashing everywhere as thunder roared throughout the land.

Rena knew it was time then. She tried to turn around to run, but then remembered that she had something else to do before she could move on to the next step. She pulled the walkie-talky out of her bag. "Rena to Satoko. As we thought, it was a failure. I'll send to a message when I'm ready to proceed to step B. Over," she spoke into the electronic device. She then pocked it, standing in front of Mion with a strong and determined look on her face.

"Why you, Rena!" she screeched out as she lunged a paw forward, intent on knocking her over. Rena jumped over the green paw as it glided near her, dodging it masterfully. Mion cursed as she sent another paw flying at her. Rena dodged once again, tumbling out of the way before the sharp claws could pierce her flesh.

"Give it up, Mi-chan!" she cried out as she dodged another paw. "It's useless all ready! I don't like Keiichi-kun and he doesn't like me!" she yelled.

"I know you like him!" she spat as she sent another blow at her. "I know you like him, I know! It's just too obvious! You always talk to him, you always follow him around, you always joke with him, and you always blush at him! I know that you like him more than anything else in the world, so give it up!" she yelled out. She swiped her paw at her, this time successfully knocking her into a tree.

Mion walked over to her, her eyes filled with the intent to kill. Rena was smashed up against the tree's bark, staring into those glazed eyes belonging to her best friend. She took a few deep breaths as she lost herself in them, taking time to understand how she was feeling. It was obvious that she didn't believe a word that she was trying to tell her. "There's no way you don't like him," Mion growled as she got closer to the orange-haired girl.

Rena shook her head. "I don't like him," she denied, her voice full of bravery.

"Well then," growled Mion as she took another step closer. "Prove it to me!"

Rena narrowed her eyes and clenched her teeth as she pulled herself upwards so that she was sitting straight, using the tree for some support on her back. "I don't like Keiichi-kun," she bellowed out to the world, "because I'm in love with Ryota-kun!"

Mion froze to the ground. "_What?" _she hissed at her.

Rena looked at her sternly, showing no sign of fear. "I said," she spoke bravely, "I'm in love with Ryuga Ryota, not Maebara Keiichi!"

For a few moments, Mion said nothing. They simply stared at each other, gazing into each other's eyes. For a moment, Rena believed that it had worked. There was no sign of insanity in Mion's eyes, no sign of hostility. Rena felt a smile grow on her face. Had it really worked? Had Mion finally killed that flame inside her that's smoke was fogging her ability to see the truth?

"…You…" Mion whispered. "You… LIAR!" she bellowed.

Rena felt any hope she had melt into a giant lump that was now sitting in the back of her throat, causing her worry to grow. "I'm not lying!" she cried out to the insane demon, "I swear to god I'm not lying! I really love Ryota, really love him! He's been so kind to me since we first started talking. He ate lunch with me, he bought me animal-shaped crackers, and he even went treasure hunting with me! But most of all, he gave me someone that I could love! I love him so much, you don't even know!" she yelled out to the whole world.

From behind the tree, Ryota felt himself freeze. He couldn't even believe it. Was Rena really saying what he thought she was saying? Did she really return his feelings for her? Even at this moment in time, where hope was so slim, he felt himself grow warm and a happy feeling begin to engulf him. If Rena was really telling the truth, then that meant he could finally reach his own happiness.

"Ryota," whispered Rika as she stared into those shocked, purple eyes.

"Is that so?" growled Mion. "Well then, you would know exactly how I feel about you pretending to do this and getting in the way of my Kei-chan. So why don't you shut your mouth, stop your stupid lies, and just die?"

Rena gulped as she slowly brought herself on her shaky feet. "Well then, Mion, if that's really how you think," she spoke, glancing behind her to the burning forest. "I have no more choices."

Without any warning, Rena turned around and dashed into the forest tinted with an orange and gray hue from the smoke created by the strikes of lightning Mion had made. She couldn't see much besides what used to be the lush, green trees encased in burning oranges, shriveling them up into lifelessness. Mion instantly followed her, whipping her tail to create more crashes of lightning, which added to the fire. The rain pouring down refused to stop the endless amount of fire that was now taking over the forest. There was just too much of it.

Rena was finding it hard to breath with so much smoke floating into her lungs. She ran as fast as she could, every once in a while looking over her shoulder at the demon that was pursuing her with fast paws. The gray smoke was clouding her vision and she could no longer see anything besides orange flames ruining the forests of Hinamizawa. Rain splattered on her head, but it was no good in stopping the fire.

She felt herself trip on a branch lying on the ground from a tree collapsing, and she fell face first into a path of still-green grass. She tried to take a few breaths, but began to cough violently as she did so. There was just too much smoke. She struggled to stand to her feet, blood seeping from her knees from the great fall she had taken. She turned around, just barely making out the figure of Mion's true form bounding over her with an open mouth through the endless clouds of smoke that now ruled the forest.

At that moment, she knew she couldn't give up. She turned herself around and searched desperately for an area that was not burning. Mion lashed her tail, sending a column of lightning striking down on the area directly in front of her. The whole spoke ignited in an orange flame, causing Rena to quickly curve around it. She couldn't mess up her route. No matter what, she had to go forward in this direction. Otherwise, nothing would work.

"YOU BITCH!" cried Mion as she jumped over the flames. "COME BACK HERE SO I CAN RIP YOUR GUTS OUT!"

Rena ignored her and continued to maneuver through the forest, fire constantly getting in her way. A tree in front of her collapsed covered in a veil of hot fire, blocking her route. With a gulp, Rena jumped over the burning log, just missing the tickling flames. Looking back behind her one more time, she ran forward, breathing heavily. Smoke filled her lungs once again and she coughed uncontrollably, stopping to clutch her chest.

"COME TO YOUR PREDATOR, PREY" cried Mion as she came up behind her. "DON'T YOU WORRY, I'LL KILL YOU SLOWLY AND MAKE SURE YOU SUFFER!" A maniacal laughter followed, causing Rena's heart race to increase. She looked forward, seeing a small opening where the blue daylight could be seen. She gave Mion once last look before she sprung to her feet and ran forward, aiming for that blue.

"Satoko! Shion!" she cried out to that area, "I'm here!"

Several burning trees began to lean to their sides, looking like they were going to fall over any minute. Rena narrowed her eyes with determination as she stared at them, knowing that she had to run and make it before they fell down and created a wall too big for her to jump over. Increasing her speed, she swiftly ran forward, her eyes set on that patch of blue before her. It was tempting her, reminding her of what it was like to breath the fresh air and to see green trees.

Then, just as the trees began to fall, she ran past them. They fell behind her in a heap, sending orange sparks flying up into the air. She passed the fire, reaching the untouched, fresh area of the forest. Orange flames licked at the green grass, threatening to set it on fire only to be stopped by droplets of rain hitting them. She turned herself around as she stared back into the cave of fire created by Mion's lightning, allowing herself to take breaths of fresh air.

"I made it," she whispered. "I made it…"

She took a deep breath, fresh air mostly free from smoke filling her lungs. She sighed as she let the air flow out. It was an amazing feeling, one that she had missed even though she had only been in that burning forest for a few minutes.

Suddenly, a giant figure jumped over the burning logs, landing in front of Rena. Mion stared at her prey as she growled, taking a few steps forward. Ash was left where her paws were standing, tainting the green grounds.

"Oh Rena," she spoke in a sing-song voice, "there's nowhere for you to run now…"

"I know," Rena spoke between her panting, "but that doesn't mean you're going to kill me here." Rena looked up at a tree above her, untouched by the flames behind them. She created a cup with her hands around her mouth as she raised her head high. "SATOKO! NOW!"  
Mion had no time to react. Out of nowhere, a huge net fell down on top of her, covering her body. Shion appeared from out of the trees. She began to pin the net down to the ground so that it stuck, preventing Mion from moving. There were tears in her eyes as she secured it so that there was certainly no way that she could escape. Then, she gave her sister once last tear-filled look before she ran back into the green trees.

"What are you?" she spoke as she thrashed about, soon realizing it was impossible for her to escape. However, being strong-willed Mion, she refused to give up. She flailed her limbs about, desperate to escape from the net that she was trapped in. She let out roars of panic when she found that she couldn't move her paws. Something sticky had been placed to the ground so that she could not raise them and cut through them with her claws.

Suddenly, Rena moved aside, revealing a masculine figure behind her. Keiichi stepped out, moving closer towards the beast he loved oh so much. He kept his hands behind his back as he reached her, staring at her with his sapphire blue eyes. When Mion sensed him, she automatically stopped her struggle and looked at him.

"Kei… chan," she spoke as she recognized the boy in front of her to be the boy she loved.

Keiichi smiled at her sadly. "I want to thank you, Mion, for being my friend. I want to say that you're the best friend I've ever had and nothing can change that, not even the fact that you're not a human," he began to say to her.

Mion titled her head to the side, confused as to why he was saying such a thing. It seemed strange to her that he was so suddenly bringing this up. What was the point? No matter what it was, Mion decided that she'd listen to him.

"You know, before I moved here, I was a lame guy. I admit it, all right? I was very lame. You see... the only thing I cared about was my grades and homework. Everyone in my school made fun of me because of it, but I didn't care. I didn't need friends when I had the praise from my teachers and my parents!" he spoke to her. "Then… you know, there was the whole toy gun incident and I ended up moving here. When I was here, I met you. You, Mion, changed my life completely. You taught me the value of friends, you taught me how to have fun, and you changed me. I was no longer that Maebara Keiichi that only cared about schoolwork and grades. I was Maebara Keiichi, a boy who could enjoy his life and have fun with all his amazing friends."

Mion was still rather confused as she racked her brain for reasons as to why he was suddenly saying this. She searched that face she loved of his for any sign, any emotion he had that would give her a clue. Then, she realized something.

_Why, _thought Mion, _why is he crying?_

Tears fell down Keiichi's face as he spoke, almost undistinguishable from the heavy rain that was pouring down on their heads. "You were the most amazing person here. At first, I thought of you as boy forever doomed to be trapped inside a female body. That was only at first, though. Through time, I realized something. Even though you're our fierce club leader, our irreplaceable club leader, you were a girl. You were no different from Rena; you were no different from Shion. You, Sonozaki Mion, were a girl," he spoke.

Silence followed in which nothing could be heard besides the crackling of the fire behind them and the sizzling sound it made as it burnt right through the green leaves that hung of the remains of trees. The tears that now fell down his face were coming out at a pace faster that the rainfall itself, and yet, a sad smile was still on his face. "And soon, I realized something," he spoke. "I, Maebara Keiichi, was in love with you, Sonozaki Mion." He felt a huge weight on his shoulders suddenly disappear as the task he needed to do for such a long time suddenly disappeared. However, he knew in his mind that his confession had already come a little too late.

"I don't care if you're a demon or anything like that," he whispered, "I still love you, no matter what," he spoke. His voice was now shaky and the effect of him crying was beginning to show. He shut his eyes to try to control the unstoppable tears just for a few moments before he opened them again. "And that's why… Mion… that's why I'm sorry…"

Mion didn't have any time to process what he just said. Within a matter of seconds, Keiichi had already reacted. He pulled his hands from behind his back and revealed what he had been hiding this whole time. In his hands, he now held up a black, sharp gun. His hands were shaking like crazy as he held it up, and he found that it was hard to keep a grip on it.

Slowly, he placed his hand on the trigger. It felt like lead, like if he used all his strength he still couldn't pull it. Then, with a gulp, with all his might, he pressed down on that trigger and fired.

At what seemed to be the speed of light, a bullet shot out from the gun and flew into Mion's chest, piercing right through her heart. She gasped as she felt it erupt in pain and she looked down, her eyes growing wide as she saw crimson leak out onto her green fur, staining it. She felt herself grow weak and she found that she could no longer remain standing. She fell to the ground in a heap, her whole body breathing heaving up and down with every heavy breath she took.

Keiichi ran up to her, instantly dislodging the net from the ground. He looked down upon Mion's demonic body and smiled. And then, slowly, it happened. Her body was enveloped by a bright light with small, stray particles swirling around her. The light molded and shifted her body until it returned to that of a human being, then leaving her body.

Mion lay on the floor. She had no claws, she had no teeth, she had no horns, she had no tail. She was a perfectly normal human being again. Keiichi slowly picked her up and held her dying body in his arms, holding her tightly against his chest. The blood leaking from her was trickling down onto his clothing, but he found that he didn't care. His salty, heavy tears dripped down onto her white face as he stared down at her.

And then, slowly, her green eyes fluttered open. They were no longer soulless, nor did they glow. She smiled as she saw him, feeling those insane, demonic thought vanishing within seconds. She no longer felt the intent to kill, nor did she feel any hatred towards Rena. She hadn't done anything, after all. That smoke clouding her ability to see the truth finally cleared up and diminished into nothing. Rena was right this whole time.

"Kei-chan," whispered Mion weakly as she gazed up into those eyes she loved so much.

"M-Mion…" he spoke back, his voice shaken by those tears. He reached out to brush a strand of green hair away from her face that had been covering one of her eyes. As he revealed it, he saw not anger in her eyes, but love and affection. "I'm… I'm so sorry, Mion. It was the only way and-"

"I understand," whispered Mion. "I was stupid, I was selfish. I was blinded by my demonic thoughts. Kei-chan, you saved me," she said to him, reaching a hand up to touch his cheek. Keiichi gasped as he felt her hand, realizing that the warmth was almost all gone. Her hand felt like stone, like cold ice.

Keiichi didn't know what to say to her. He knew that he only had seconds left with her, but he didn't know what to say. He knew that he had to say something now otherwise it would never reach those ears of hers.

"I love you," he whispered to her, shifting her in his arms so that she was pressed further against him, his warmth warming her body of the cold death that was slowly enveloping it. "I love you more than anything else in this whole world."

Mion smiled at him despite the fact that she knew death was coming for her, doomed to take her away from her friends in a matter of seconds. "And I love you, too, Kei-chan."

Everyone watched as they exchanged words of love, as they gazed at each other with affection in their eyes. They all wanted to say farewell, to apologize, but none of them wanted to break the romantic moment they were sharing with each other. They had been interrupted too many times before, after all.

It felt like a forever before one of them finally did decide to break their romantic moment. They had shared their words of love, so it was now time for them to say goodbye. "MION!" cried a figure as she ran up to the two lovers, as she crouched down next to her, gazing at her with eyes full of salty tears.

"Shion," whispered Mion as she gazed into two, beautiful green eyes identical to her own. "Thank you for being my twin, Shion."

Shion grabbed Mion's hand, intertwining her fingers with her twins and holding it close to her chest. Tears dripped down from her eyes and onto their hands locked in a tight embraced as she gazed at her sister for the very last time. "I don't want you to go, I don't want you to go!" she cried out.

Mion smiled sadly at her. "I'm sorry, but it's my time," she whispered, causing Shion to grasp her hand tighter. "But Shion, I promise you when I'm reborn, we'll be identical twins again. Will you agree to that promise, Shion?" she asked.

Shion nodded her head. "OF COURSE!" she cried out. "I… I want to be your identical twin no matter how many times we're reborn! In fact, let's be identical twins in every life that we have! Every single one of them!"

"Sounds nice," whispered Mion as she felt her strength decrease as well as the grip she had on her sister's hand that she was so desperately trying to maintain. "It's a deal, Shion. We'll always be identical twins."

Slowly, the rest of the club wandered up to her. Every single one of them was crying, unable to control their tears for their club leader, the one who had lead them to victory oh so many times. She was the one that founded the club, the one that had brought them together, the one who had made them so close, the one who had taught them all about fun and friendship. Now, she was leaving forever.

"I'll miss you, Mi-chan," said Rena as she wiped away a tear. "I'm glad you've finally seen the truth, now, and I'm sorry that this was the only way."

"I don't want you to go!" cried Satoko. "You were the one who brought me up after my uncle came back! You were the one who healed those wounds he created!"

Ryota nodded. "Yeah. Mion, thank you for creating the club. The club was what helped me overcome my old self and helped me find who I truly was. I finally have friends now, thanks to you," he spoke to her, a few tears in his eyes.

Out of Rena, Satoko, and Ryota, Rika was certainly the one crying the hardest. What was she to do now that her irreplaceable leader was gone? Hanyuu was out of power. There was no way that she could be saved now. "Mion," she sobbed, "we won't ever find another leader like you. We won't ever, ever. You're irreplaceable."

Mion smiled up at them as she looked over from person to person. "And you're the best friends I could ever ask for," she spoke to them. "Thank you all for being my friend and making this old man happy," she said to them, wearing a sad smile on her face. Then, she looked up to the boy who she loved, the boy who held her in his arms, and smiled. "Thank you, Keiichi," she said, finally speaking his true name. "You gave me someone to love. I didn't think I'd ever be able to love so strongly in my life, and you proved me wrong. I love you more than anything else, and I hope you remember that for the rest of your life."

Keiichi nodded. "I won't forget!" he cried out between his tears. "I won't forget how much you loved me, and I certainly won't forget how much I loved you!"

Mion smiled. "That makes me happy," she whispered under her breath. Then, she looked over to the rest of them, gazing at each and every one of their tear-filled eyes, and then let out a large sigh.

"Please don't forget me," she spoke. "Always remember me as Sonozaki Mion, your friend, and not the demon Sonozaki Mion. That's my final wish."

Every one of them nodded. And then, in unison, they all said, "we promise!"  
Mion smiled. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," she spoke over and over again. She spoke those two words on her lips until they finally faded away into silence. Her emerald eyes closed for the last time and her whole body grew cold and limp. Shion felt the grip Mion had on her hands loosen until it fell away, dropping back to her side.

And then, each and every one of them cried like never before for their club friend, their club leader, and the person who had changed all their lives as they looked down at her now lifeless body.

Sonozaki Mion, the Green-Eyed Demon, and the leader of the club of Hinamizawa was dead.

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**Crimso's Corner**

**(SPOILERS BEWARE)**

**WAAAAAAAAH. I bet you're all surprised that I did it, huh? Yeah, I just did it. I, Crimso, writer of this lovely fanfiction, just killed off my favorite character in the whole universe. Seriously, I felt like crying as I was writing that. Really lame, I know, since it's my own fanfiction. But I really can't help it. My fanfiction, not my character. Mion is property of the 07****th**** Expansion, which I am in no way related to.**

**And I bet you're all angry with me. Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. I'll explain how they got to the decision in the next chapter. I didn't want to tell you their decision because I felt that that killed the whole mood of her death scene. I mean, if you see if coming, it isn't the same. Some of you might have seen it coming, but I didn't tell you, so it's different. Now, this is the end I have planed since the beginning. It's probably one of the only things that hasn't been changed since I first came up with this fanfiction back in… October? September? July? I don't remember. I always wanted to write a scene where someone is forced to kill a friend ever since I read a book with an ending like that all the way back in 7****th**** grade. And if you are wondering why Mion didn't die straight away even though the bullet pierced her heart, it was because she's a demon. Demons are more powerful and they die slower. I know, seems strange, but still.**

_**THIS. IS. NOT. THE. END.**_** We have two more chapters to go, so hang on! Either that, or three. Don't stop reading just because I killed Mion, please. I know you're upset, but keep reading for me. Not only that, but keep reviewing! Reviews are awesome. For this chapter, each review will help Mion rest in peace and be happy in death. I'm sure you want that, right? Right? RIIIGHT? Also, please point out typos. I will go over and fix them after I'm done writing this, but I don't have any time really. I have school tomorrow (which is basically just going to a movie and going back to school) and I haven't taken a shower. I just really, really, really wanted to finish this chapter!**

**~Crimso**


	36. Chapter 35: Aftermath

**Hey guys! School is OUT! YESS! I woke up at 1:30 PM today. I feel refreshed. In any case, I want to say that my reviewers brought up some issues with the beginning of the last chapter, which I will fix… later. I don't know when, but it will be later. Some of them are issues that ARE addressed in this chapter and will not be fixed because I have reasons. In any case, I want to move on to something else. This time, I must speak to you about my computer. Urgh. It's slow, it keeps freezing, and it refuses to let me review on FF. I doubt it will even let me post this on FF.**

**Second to last chapter. **

**~35~**

~~~~X~~~~

Seven young children stood in the middle of the forest as rain poured down on top of their heads. Ash was scattered about the area from the fire, which was now slowly dying down. Maebara Keiichi sat on the ground, his arms wrapped around the dead body of Sonozaki Mion. Around him stood all the club members, their eyes fixed on the body of their club leader. Right now, all of them couldn't help but wonder what they were going to do now that they were without their leader. They couldn't continue club activities without her!

"Keiichi," Rika spoke softly as she wiped a tear away from her cheek, "we should probably go bury her right now. We've left her out here long enough…"

Keiichi nodded slowly as he held the dead body closer to him, as if he were trying to chase away the cold enveloping her body. He could no longer feel her heart beat against his chest. She was indeed dead, never to lead another club activity again. "All right," he whispered, his voice shaky from crying so much. "I just want to hold her a little longer…"

Mion's body was pressed against the living body of Keiichi. Surely she would be amazed to have him this close to her if she were alive. She looked peaceful in death. Keiichi gazed down at her, the tears now flowing out of his eyes like never before. She was so beautiful, even in death.

She may have been a demon, but to him, she'd forever be an angel.

He reached out one of his hands to stroke her cheek gently and he smiled down at her when he did. She had died smiling at him, and that smile still remained on her face even at this time. Tears that came from Keiichi's eyes dripped down onto Mion's face and trickled down her cheeks, making it appear as if she was the one who was crying.

"Mion," whispered Shion as she grabbed onto her cold, dead hand, "Mion… Oh…"

Behind everyone stood Hanyuu, her tears invisible to everyone. As Hanyuu wiped a tear away from her cheek, she thought, how long had it been since she had cried like this? She couldn't remember. Back when in 1983, she never cried when someone died. She stopped after the first two loops. She was so used to seeing people die that it didn't even matter. After all, they would just come back to life a day later. However, now, this was a completely different matter. They had achieved happiness, only to have it crumble back down into a pile of rubbish. They had been so close.

"Mion, Mion!" the goddess cried out to the world, her voice unheard, "Mion! Why did this have to happen? Why?"

Rika looked up at her best friend, the person who had spent countless years with her sharing her pain. She frowned, hating having to see her cry like that. She hadn't seen her so sad in such a long time. Rika let out a large sigh as she looked about everyone else, finding that they were also crying hard. Rena was having a hard time controlling her tears, which were now pouring out like a waterfall from her eyes. She eventually gave up trying to fight the tears, and allowed them to spill out like never before.

Keiichi slowly looked to the ground, catching sight of the gun he had used to puncture Mion's heart. He hated that gun; even though he had been the one controlling it's actions. He wanted to throw it away, to destroy it for hurting someone he loved so much.

"We… we should probably return that gun back to Akasaka-san," whispered Satoko as she rubbed her red, puffy eyes. "He was so kind to let us use it. It is his, after all."

Keiichi nodded his head. He couldn't smash that gun, since it was not his. Akasaka had offered to let them use it when he had helped them come to the conclusion that they had to kill Mion, which they had accepted. In fact, he was probably back over at the start of the forest waiting for their results right now. They had to return soon.

"Come on, guys," he whispered, "let's go bury her."

Keiichi slowly stood up, Mion's limp body in his arms. He held her close to him, looking down upon her as he did. He felt terrible burying someone so beautiful underneath the disgusting dirt, but he had no choice. He couldn't allow her body to stay out like this.

"Where are we going to bury her?" Rena asked as she stood up, a stray tear falling down from her chin and onto the grass.

Keiichi shook his head. "I'm not sure, but we should find a peaceful spot where she can rest in peace forever," he spoke as he stroked a strand of green hair that fell from her head.

Rika looked over at Satoko, who nodded. "I think I know a good place," she spoke. "Just follow me."

And so, the seven friends followed Rika as she walked through the forest. The rain had caught up with the fire, almost completely extinguishing it. However, it was now only lightly drizzling. Keiichi let out a sigh as he held her body closer to his chest, feeling their bodies press against each other tightly. He could easily feel her feminine figure through her clothing, soaked with rain, blood, and tears.

Everyone's sobbing could be heard throughout the group that spoke no words. The only thing exchanged between them was their feelings of sorrow and their crying. They all looked ahead, wondering to themselves where they would lay their leader to rest. She needed a peaceful spot, a spot where she wouldn't ever be disturbed.

Suddenly, they came to a halt. All the club members looked up, finding themselves stationed at the bottom of a giant tree. They all gasped as they looked up at it. It was a very large tree, one of the largest they had ever seen or perhaps even _the _largest. Rika looked up at it with a sorrowful glint in her eye, taking large breaths as she did.

"Chinatsu," she spoke, "the largest tree in Hinamizawa…"

Keiichi looked at Rika inquisitively. "Chinatsu?" he repeated.

Rika nodded slowly. "Yes, Chinatsu. That's what I named her. Satoko agreed to it. She's the largest tree in Hinamizawa, said to protect over it. Well, that's what we think, anyways," she spoke as she walked up to the tree, placing one of her hands on the rough bark, running her finger down it.

"One thousand summers, huh?" breathed Rena as she looked up at the great tree. "That's a very meaningful name."

Keiichi nodded his head in agreement. "It's a very beautiful name, too. Do you think that she will be able to protect Mion well?" she asked her, glancing down at the girl.

Rika nodded. "Chinatsu will do a fine job of protecting Mii if we bury her here. Surely she'll be peaceful resting under the biggest tree in all of Hinamizawa," she spoke as she looked down at the soft ground near the roots of the tree. "You might want to give her a little distance, though, so we don't disturb Chinatsu getting her water."

"Do… do we have a shovel?" asked Ryota as he glanced about the area.

Rika shook her head. "No, but I'm certain there's one in the Saiguden or at least at my house. I'll go take a look for you guys. Stay there and keep an eye on Mion."  
And so, Rika ran off into the distance. All of the club members sat down under the great tree, the branches and the leaves shielding them from the light rain, which was slowly fading away. The light rain was just the aftermath of Mion's rage, proof that it had once existed.

Keiichi shifted Mion in his lap so that she'd feel a little more comfortable if she were alive. Shion slowly looked over at the two of them, her eyes moist and tears still running down. She sniffed a little as she stared at the dead body of her identical twin, feeling hollow on the inside. She was now just a half without another, forever doomed to be incomplete.

She felt strange without her sister. What was she to do now that she didn't have her sister by her side? She had been with her sister for her entire life. Now, she was gone, leaving a giant hole in Shion.

Ryota glanced over at Rena, who was still crying just a little. He had long stopped, unable to shed very many tears for someone who he didn't really know. He had been unable to speak with her true self, to become friends with the real Mion. He had only known her as the demon Mion, the Mion who had been controlled by false ideas and murderous thoughts. Surely he'd be crying too if he knew the true Mion.

Yet, something else was on his mind right now. That was the words that Rena had spoken to Mion when she was still in her true form, when she confessed her love to him in front of everyone. He blushed as he thought about it, wondering to himself if they were true. They had to be, right? In that case, it was only right that he confronted her and told her exactly how he felt about her.

"Rena-chan," he spoke softly to her as he slowly scooted himself over so that their bodies were close by.

Rena looked up at him, tears still filling those beautiful sapphire eyes of hers. "What is it, Ryota-kun?" she asked him as she wiped a few unformed tears away from her eyes, sniffling a little.

"About… about what you said," he whispered, looking away out of the sheer embarrassment of the topic he was about to bring up. "You know… what you said to Mion when you were trying to convince her that you weren't in love with Keiichi," he murmured.

Rena titled her head to the side, rather confused as to what he meant at first. She had said so many things, so what exactly was he referring to? When it suddenly hit her, she grew a tomato red and she began to panic on the inside, realizing that Ryota had been listening when she had spoken those brave words to her. Now, he knew those secret feelings that she harbored for him. "Uh… those words! R-Rena was…"

"Were you telling the truth?" Ryota asked.

Rena blushed, looking into the purple eyes of Ryota. And then, slowly, she nodded, admitting her true feelings. She couldn't hide it any longer. Besides, if he liked her back, it would be something that would surly cheer her up. After all, she needed comfort in this time of sorrow.

Ryota's eyes lit up with delight and a large smile spread across his face at the confirmation that she was indeed in love with him. It was a warm feeling, a feeling that made him feel a little better at this time. "I like you, too," he admitted, a tomato-red blush across his face.

Rena's eyes widened and she grinned a little, though tears were still trickling down her face. She wiped them away and then looked back at him, smiling widely. "Are you serious? Does Ryota-kun really like Rena, does he really?" she asked him, her voice full of delight though tainted just a tiny bit by the impact of tragedy that had just occurred.

Ryota nodded. "Yeah, I really like you, Rena. You've done so much for me since we first became friends… you have no idea! I mean, look at who I used to be and who I am now. Do you know why I'm like this now?" he asked, gently taking her hands in his own. Then, he stared directly into those sapphire blue eyes with his purple gaze, smiling. "It's because you taught me how to be brave, Rena. You."

Rena smiled as she squeezed his hands, finding his presence comforting. "Ryota-kun," she whispered.

Slowly, they leaned in, their lips just centimeters away from each other. Ryota grinned as he felt his heart beat fast, just dying to kiss her. She indeed was the reason he was the way he was now. She was the one who told him that he needed to stand up to Etsuko, she was the one who taught him how to have fun, and she was the one who had finally given him a friend. And now, they were just a little more than that.

Just as he was about to kiss her, however, Rena pushed him away, a serious expression on her face. Ryota looked a little confused, but Rena quickly put a finger to his mouth, telling him to say nothing. "Ryota-kun, I think we need to respect the people around us. After all," she spoke, "there is someone here who has just lost their love."

Rena turned around to look over at Keiichi, who was staring down morosely at the dead body in his arms. His bangs were shadowing his eyes as he reached a hand out to caress her face lovingly. The girl did not react as his warm hand touched her face, gently stroking it. She remained motionless and still. Ryota instantly understood as he saw the scene before him, nodding. He had to hold back his feelings. It wasn't right to display his affection in front of everyone when someone else was suffering for the loss of their love. Aside from that, doing such would be just plain rude around everyone else who was mourning her.

And so, Ryota and Rena decided to keep their distance, instead trying to respect the other people and mourn the loss of their club leader, someone who was irreplaceable. Satoko was hugging herself tightly, Shion was gazing down at her sister's dead body as she sobbed uncontrollably, and Keiichi was still caressing Mion.

Keiichi couldn't stop looking down at her body, even though he knew he had to stop soon. He needed to spend as much time as he could with her before they buried her body underneath the dirt, never to be seen again. He let out a sigh as he looked down at her face, at her body. His time with her was limited, and he knew that he had to let go of her soon.

A small figure appeared, running through the forest as she held up a giant shovel. She waved it around in the air as she came to a halt, holding it up for all of them to see. "I got the shovel," she spoke in between her panting, "now, let's bury her."  
Rika looked about the club, wondering which one of them to give the shovel to. With a sigh, she handed it to Shion. "You should make a giant hole right over there," she said, pointing to a spot close to the tree. "That's the perfect spot for Mii to rest in peace. Keiichi, when she's done, you'll place her down. Then Shion should bury her body."

Shion nodded, sniffling a little. She took the shovel in her arms and walked over to the spot Rika was pointing to. She held the shovel above the moist soil before she burred the shovel into it, throwing the dirt over her shoulder. She dug furiously, a few tears leaking down her cheeks as she did so. A giant pile was created behind her as she continued to dig through the dirt, determined to make a good spot for her to rest.

When she had finally finished digging a hole big enough for Mion to fit in, she took a few steps back and looked down at the work she had done. Then, Rika gave a glance to Keiichi, signaling for him to set her down.

Keiichi walked up to the hole, and reluctantly placed the motionless body of the girl he loved down in it. Then, he took a good look at her, admiring her features, her body, her face, _everything _about her. He didn't want to forget what she looked like; he didn't want to forget his first love. Sighing, Shion took a step forward, placing the shovel in the mound of dirt. She looked down at her sister, tears still flowing down her face.

"Goodbye, sis," she whispered before she threw a chunk of dirt on top of her body. She repeated this action over and over again until Mion's body was soon almost unable to be seen underneath all the dirt. Everyone's eyes filled with tears yet again, tears that most of them had managed to chase away. Slowly, Shion threw the last bit of dirt on her, completely covering her body up. She put a little more on to flatten out the surface, making sure that it looked like no one had tampered with the ground.

"It's done," breathed Keiichi.

Rika nodded. "Yup. She's gone now."

All of them stared in silence at the ground, looking at the spot where Mion now lay for the rest of eternity. A few of them sighed as they glanced down, knowing that they were never going to see their club leader again. This was the last time.

Rika slowly looked up at the tree. "Chinatsu, please protect Mion for us. She's a close friend of ours," she spoke to the giant tree as if it could really understand her words.

"Yes, please," whispered an invisible Hanyuu. "You can probably do a better job of protecting your people than I can…

Keiichi gazed up at the tree, wondering to himself if Mion was happy now. Was she in a better place now? He didn't know. Did demons even get to rest in peace? What if she was being tortured further now, and not in a happy place? Keiichi gulped, wondering to himself if there truly was a better place for her to be other than beside him and all her friends.

"Come on," whispered Rika, "we need to give Akasaka his gun back."

Keiichi slowly looked down and took the gun in his now free hands. He gazed at it, feeling disgusted at the sight of it. He refrained doing so, however, and simply held it gently in his hands. "He said he'd be waiting for us near the entrance to the forest around the Furude Shrine. Let's go."

The friends wandered through the forest towards the Furude Shrine, all of them thinking about what had just happened. They would never see their club leader again. How were they supposed to move on as a club without a leader? A club that did not have someone to lead them was a helpless club, one that was doomed to fail.

"Ah!" Akasaka spoke as he noticed the club approaching him. "How did it go?"

All of them gave him a solemn look, which instantly told him that the plan was a huge success. He let out a large sigh, rubbing the back of his head. "I guess that means you guys succeeded," he murmured. "And in the end, you guys really didn't need my help…"

"Thank you for letting us borrow your gun," spoke Keiichi as he handed back his gun, the gun that had killed the girl he loved. "It was very useful."

Akasaka took the gun back from him before placing it back in its holster. "Thank you very much, and I'm glad that I could be of some help, even if it was minimal."

Rika looked up at him. "If you would please keep Mion's death a secret, Akasaka-san. I'm going to make it seem like she disappeared without a trace instead of murder," she spoke to him. "It would be a little too risky if we told the public that she had been murdered."

Akasaka nodded. "I'll respect your wishes, Rika-chan, since I know that the reaction would be bad if they discovered that someone had killed the heiress to the great Sonozaki family," he said, bowing to her. "I promise I won't speak a word."

Rika smiled at him. "Thank you, Akasaka-san."

And with that, the club members bid farewell to the policeman. They sighed as they looked about each other, wondering what they should do now. It was now the early afternoon and they were lacking any ideas. The sun had appeared through the gray clouds and there was no longer any rain pouring down, marking the eternal end of Mion's wrath. Rika narrowed her eyes as she stared up at the sun. It seemed like a forever since she had seen it.

"So, now what?" Keiichi spoke.

Rika shook her head. "I guess we all go home."

Satoko let out a sigh. "It seems so strange, though. Just like that, it's all over and we go home. Isn't there anything else for us to do?" she asked, looking around at all her friends minus Mion.

They looked at each other and shrugged. "I… I don't think so, Satoko. It think it's all over," Rena spoke.

Rika let out a large sigh. "Yeah," she breathed as she stared up into the bright, cloudless sky, "it's all over."  
"I guess we just go home," murmured Ryota, though the idea just seemed strange to him. A friend had just died, and now they were to go home and act like nothing happened. That just didn't seem right to anyone. "Rika, Satoko, I assume that I'm going to your house?" he spoke.

Rika nodded her head. "I guess that's what your going to do for now. I suggest that you talk to your parents soon, though. Etsuko isn't here anymore, you're allowed to go back to your own house," she spoke.

Ryota nodded. "I'll do that a little later. For now, I think I'm going to go with you guys."

"All right," sighed Satoko as she looked up at her other friends, "let's go, then."

Rika, Satoko, and Ryota waved goodbye to the others before they walked away into the woods, destined for Rika's house out in the middle of the forest, mostly isolated from the others.

Rena bowed to them before she took her leave, leaving behind just Keiichi and Shion. They both looked at each other with a sigh, both of them not knowing what they should do now. It seemed odd to just walk away from the whole situation. After all, they had received the greatest impact from this loss. Shion certainly did not want to return to the Sonozaki Manor and see her family. She cringed a little at the thought, wondering what they were to do when Mion was proclaimed dead.

"Hey, Kei-chan?" she spoke to him.  
"Yeah, Shion?" he said.

Shion looked away for a moment. The wind left from the storm blew through the air, tossing her green strands up. She looked into the sky, sighing at the sight of how calm it was. "You know, before she died, Mion said something to me," she spoke, not making eye contact with the brown-haired boy.

Keiichi tilted his head to the side. "What did she say to you?" he asked. "If you don't mind telling me, that is."

Shion sighed as she looked off into the distance, allowing the wind to carry her hair. A single tear trickled down her cheek before it fell off her chin, hitting the dusty path beneath her. "You know, when I first saw her with horns and all that, I was surprised. So I was talking to her about how her demonic nature related to me. And then, she told me that since we're twins, born together, we should die together as well…" she whispered.

Keiichi seemed to catch the implications of Mion's words right away. Now that Mion was dead, and they had promised to die together… Keiichi gulped. Those were some risky words she had spoken. But then again, how was she to know that she was to die in a matter of a single day? "Don't, Shion!" he cried out almost instantly, "if you're thinking of killing yourself to uphold that promise, then don't!"  
"But I promised her!" she cried out, whipping around to meet Keiichi's eyes. He was surprised to see that her emerald orbs were filled with tears once again, tears she had recently managed to chase away. "I promised her that we'd die together, and now that she's dead, what do I do? What do I do?" Shion collapsed on the ground, her knees hitting the dirt beneath her. Dust spiraled upwards from the impact, creating a large dust cloud.

Keiichi knelt down on the ground so that he was at Shion's height. A frown was on his face as he looked at her. "Mion wouldn't want you dying for her," he whispered. "Even if you promised her, all she really wants is for you to be happy when she's gone. You have other people to live for, don't you?" he asked. "Remember how you keep saying it's your duty to protect Satoko… for Satoshi?"

At the mention of Satoshi's name, Shion instantly lifted her head up and stared at Keiichi with wide eyes. "Satoshi… Kun…"

Keiichi nodded. "Yeah, and if you don't protect Satoko, who will? Didn't you say that you were doing it for Satoshi? What will he do if he finds out you have been neglecting your job?" he spoke. He stood up, looking down upon the grief-stricken girl. He stuck out a hand for Shion to grab on to, offering to help her up from the floor.

However, much to his surprise, she did not accept it. She instead looked up at him with even more tears in her eyes. "Why… why does it always have to be, Kei-chan? Satoshi-kun is gone, and now Mion is gone. Why is it that everyone I care for disappears? Why?" she spoke, allowing her whole body to fall to the ground. Tears leaked out from her eyes and stained the ground, coating it in dark spots.

Keiichi sat back down, frowning at the sight before him. He could barely understand how she felt, being hated for being a second born to the Sonozaki family. However, what he could understand was the feeling of loss, the feeling of losing the person you love. Slowly, he pulled her into a tight embrace in an attempt to comfort her. She didn't react too much to this, and continued to sob widely.

"…I know how it feels to lose the person you love," Keiichi whispered into his ear. "Satoshi and Mion were important people to you… weren't they?"

Shion nodded into his chest, though she spoke no words. Her words would probably be undecipherable through her constant tears.

Keiichi stroked her locks of green hair, finding that they felt the same as Mion's hair. He let out a sigh, allowing the girl to bury her head into his chest as she cried unstoppable tears. "Don't worry," whispered Keiichi. "Hopefully… hopefully Mion's in a better place now."

~~~~X~~~~

The chirping of the higurashi cicadas were unusually loud that day, particularly around the Sonozaki Manor for some reason no one knew. At this moment in time, it was around five pm and the sun was currently going into hiding for the rest of the day. Inside the large house sat Sonozaki Oryou, who was peacefully taking sips of her tea as she listened to the higurashi cicadas sing their summer song. She looked a little irritated for some reason, but then again, when didn't she look irritated? She sat her cup of tea down next to her cushion and let out a large sigh.

"Watanagashi went over better than I thought it would," she murmured.

Sitting next to her was none other than her own daughter, Sonozaki Akane, who had come to Hinamizawa to see the festival just once. She had spent the whole time with the adults, conversing about things had been going over in Okinomiya back in the Sonozaki House, where every other Sonozaki aside from Oryou and the twins lived.

"It certainly did," she spoke as she took a sip of her own tea. "I was glad to meet with Suzuki-san since I haven't in such a long time. He was a good friend of mine back when, you remember?"  
Oryou nodded as she took a sip of her tea, staring down into it. "Oh yes, I remember him all right," she mumbled as she placed it down. "Though I am glad to see that you are still able to enjoy yourself despite what happened a few years back, hm?"

Akane let out a sigh, instantly knowing that she was referring to the time when she was disinherited for marrying an outsider. "I do not care even a tiny bit about my previous right to the head of the family, mother," she spoke as she set hr tea down on the ground. "I believe Mion is more suited for the role, anyways."

Oryou nodded. "That girl will make a fine leader some day, I have no doubts about that," she spoke as she finished off the rest of her tea, scooting the small cup to the side of her cushion.

"She certainly will," spoke Akane as she too took the last gulp of her tea. "It's a shame, though. I was hoping I'd get to talk to her a little when the Watanagashi was over, but for some reason, I was unable to find her."

Oryou raised an eyebrow. "She hasn't come home, either."  
"Ah, probably out with her friends, I suppose," she spoke. "Shion, too, I guess. I have not seen her either."

"I am assuming so. She has so many friends, after all," she mumbled.

Suddenly, without any warning, a whole bunch of villagers burst into the Sonozaki Manor, startling Oryou and Akane. They knelt down on the ground in front of them, showing their respects to the great Sonozaki family that ruled over them all.

"Sorry for disturbing you, Sonozaki-sama," spoke a man, his forehead practically touching the ground as he spoke. Then, he raised himself again, looking at the two Sonozakis with wide eyes. "I have come with some important news."

"What is it?" grumbled Oryou. "It better be good…"  
The man looked a little hesitant as he looked over to his left, gazing at his partner. Then, he looked back at Oryou with stern eyes. "It's about Kimiyoshi," he spoke to her. "He's… he's… er… he's dead."  
Oryou's eyes grew wide with shock. Kimiyoshi, the man who she had known for such a long time… was… dead? Hadn't the murders of Oyashiro-sama's curse come to a close? She looked over to her daughter, who had an equally as shocked look on her face. "That can't be! How could someone possibly kill him!"

"He was found bleeding terribly," the man explained. "He had tons of cuts all over his body."

Oryou let out a large sigh, placing her hand to her temples and rubbing them. Oyashiro-sama had returned, and this time, he had taken someone extremely important to the village, and someone she had known for such a long time. The thought that the old man had actually died was strange to her.

Then, she realized something. In the curse of Oyashiro-sama, one person died and one person disappeared. Since she hadn't seen Mion since last night… did that mean that…?

Panic instantly grew in Oryou, and she felt her heart rate grow to a dangerous level. She had never felt so worried before. "My granddaughter!" she suddenly cried out. "Has anyone seen my granddaughter?" she demanded.

All of the villagers looked at each other. "Sonozaki Mion-sama?" they spoke, looking at each and every one of the villagers in the room. They all shook their heads. "No, Sonozaki-sama, I haven't seen Mion-sama since the festivities before the Cotton Drifting Ceremony. Why do you ask?"  
Akane looked startled as she too caught on. Had Oyashiro-sama really taken her eldest daughter away? Oryou balled her fists up as she looked about the room. "FIND HER AT ONCE!" she ordered all of them.

"Yes, Ma'am!"

~~~~X~~~~

Rika let out a large sigh as she turned the pages of her book, reading through each and every one of the messages she had left that lead up to this point. She read about the time where Mion's eyes glowed, the time where she had discovered what her true motive was, and finally, the Watanagashi festival. So much had happened since then, and now, she had to add it all in and draw this book to it's conclusion. She flipped to the next empty page and placed her pencil above it, ready to write.

_It is the day after the Watanagashi Festival now, and I have so much to write down. First of all, last night, we discovered Mion in a cave. Well, let's say Ryota, Rena, and Keiichi did first. Shion, Satoko and I ran up the hill to go find her and ended up running into them. They told us all about Mion and what the issue was. When we found her, I was rather surprised. She had horns, fangs, and claws. Not only that, but her eyes were a glowing green like the time back in the classroom where they flashed green for a few seconds. _

_ However, that does not truly matter right now. I don't quite know what went on between Mion and Keiichi in the caves, unfortunately, so I'll have to ask him about that later so I can fully complete this tale. In any case, we came up with a plan to turn Mion back to normal. We were to have Keiichi confess to her, and hopefully that would bring her back to her normal, human self. However, after we tried this, we soon realized it did not work. She soon transformed into her true form. She looked horrifying. She had the body of a lynx and the teeth of a saber-toothed tiger, her eyes a bright, glowing green. Not only that, but she had sharp claws and her fur was all green. We ran away as soon as we could._

_ The next morning, we tried to come up with a plan to turn Mion back. However, it didn't turn out so well. In the Tale of Sonozaki Ayame (see Book Seventeen) Sayuri explained that the only way to turn back into a human form was to kill the thing that made you insane, in this case, it would be Rena. So we had two choices: kill Mion or kill Rena. First of all, we weren't even sure that Mion would return to normal if we killed Rena. What if she had a secret grudge against someone else? Second of all, there was no way in hell we were going to kill Rena. So we finally came to a devastating conclusion. Kill Mion._

_ Akasaka let us use his gun, but I told him that I wanted it to be just the club when we killed Mion. Share a few last moments with all of us and no one else, you know? He accepted, and gave us his gun. Rena was to try and tell Mion that she didn't love Keiichi and see if that worked, and if it didn't, we were to kill her. It did not, and Rena was forced to lead Mion to Satoko's trap through fire, which she had started by summoning lightning with her tail. Keiichi then finished up the work._

_ They confessed their love to each other in the end, and we all said farewell. Before she died, Mion returned to normal, finally seeing the light. She died as the true Mion, and not as the demon._

_ We buried her under Chinatsu, the giant tree of Hinamizawa. We have decided that we will keep her death a secret from the village and let them decide that she had disappeared, a sacrifice for Oyashiro-sama's curse. _

_ I have much more to say, but I will leave it at this for now. I want to hear other people's side of the story, such as what Keiichi saw when he was with Mion._

_ -Furude Rika, 1984_

Rika let out a sigh as she looked down at her work, discovering that it was much more than she had wrote ever before. She placed it down in the box with a sigh, leaning up against a spot in the wall where no torture equipment hung. "In the end, it appears that Etsuko's plan was really perfect after all. She had no flaws in her plan."

Hanyuu nodded. "Yes, her plan would always result in losing either Rena or Mion. She had already won from the beginning."

It was true. While it appeared that her plan was a failure seeing as she died in the process, her plan was in truth, a huge success. She knew that either Rena or Mion had to die no matter what, causing some tragedy to happen. Killing Mion was her goal, and while it hadn't been by her own hand, Mion was most certainly dead. She had won after all.

Rika murmured something underneath her breath as she pushed herself up further against the wall. She was incredibly tired now, seeing as she didn't get very much sleep last night. After all, so much had happened during the day, even though it was not even over. She lay down on the ground, sighing once again.

"MION!" a man's voice came from outside, "SONOZAKI MION-SAMA! WHERE ARE YOOOU?"

Rika shot up as she darted about the room. Was someone outside? She was tempted to take a look, but she did not want to be spotted. She placed her ear up against the door of the Saiguden, wondering what exactly was going on. It seemed as if they were having a search party for Mion seeing as she hadn't been seen by anyone since the Battle of the Evil Eights.

"I can't seem to find her!" cried the voice of another man. "Have you guys found any evidence at all?"

"Nope! She's not here!"

"Well we're not giving up!"

"SONOZAKI MION-SAMA? WHERE ARE YOOOOOU!"

A series of voices continued to cry out from near the outside of the Saiguden, all of them in desperate search for Mion. Rika let out a sigh, knowing that their attempts to find her were all in vain. Mion was dead, after all.

"It must be Oyashiro-sama's curse!" a voice spoke out from the other side. "One person dies and one person disappears!"

"Yes! It's a punishment for not respecting Oyashiro-sama!" cried another voice. "He has come to take away all our leaders! I bet Furude Rika is next!"

Rika's eyes grew wide at the mention of Oyashiro-sama's curse. When was the last time someone had mentioned Oyashiro-sama's curse, let alone Oyashiro-sama at all? She gave a quick look to Hanyuu, who instantly nodded with a stern look on her face. She looked back at the door, once again, resting her ear to it so she could hear the voices.

"OH MY GOD! OVER HERE, GUYS! I FOUND ANOTHER BODY!" cried a man from a while away, though his voice was loud enough so the others could hear him. Rika let out a sigh. He must have found Etsuko's body, then.

"Oh my god! Oyashiro-sama, why! WHY?"  
Hanyuu let out a sigh as she stepped closer to the door, listening to the sound of her nickname being screamed out by the frightened villagers. She hated that they were speaking bad of Oyashiro-sama, but there wasn't much she could do. For now, she was just glad that they seemed to remember her after forgetting about her, causing her to lose all her powers.

"Do you hear that, Rika? The belief in Oyashiro-sama has returned," spoke Hanyuu as she placed a hand on the door, not feeling the wood that made it up.

Rika nodded, giving her a surprised glance. "Hanyuu, does that mean that…?"

Hanyuu nodded. "I could return if I wanted to."

A large grin spread across Rika's face, one filled with relief. Hanyuu could finally come back to the club! They were so broken when Hanyuu had left them. Now, the return of her should be able to heal them, even if it was just a bit. "That's great!" she yelled out to her. "They'll be so happy to have you back, you know! They were all so heartbroken when you left them. Don't you remember that time we spent at Angel Mort? They were so sad!" she spoke. "And now, your return should-"

"STOP!" cried Hanyuu.

Rika's smile dropped, and now she was looking at her friend, visibly confused. "Hanyuu?"  
Hanyuu closed her eyes, letting out a deep sigh. Slowly, she opened them, revealing sternness in them that she had never seen on her before, startling Rika. "Rika, we've been together since forever. I remember when you were born. I was so happy then, to have a friend that I could talk to. However, you've grown way to dependant on me. How are you going to succeed in life when you're leaning on me? I'm nothing more than a spirit, nothing that can help you."

"Well, you won't be a spirit if you go back to normal!" she shouted.

Hanyuu shook her head. "That wasn't what I meant! You'll still be dependant on me, even if I'm in a physical form!" she shouted at her.

Rika balled her fists up, getting angrier and angrier by the moment. "That's not true, Hanyuu! Why don't you understand what I'm trying to say to you? We all miss you, Hanyuu! The club misses you so much! The club just isn't the same without you. It hasn't been the same! Don't you get it? Don't you understand? The club needs you!" she shouted out, stomping her foot down on the old wooden floor. Several dissection tools on the wall began to shake from the impact, dangerously close to falling down.

"Stop it, Rika!" screamed Hanyuu. "You're the one who doesn't understand!"

"No, I understand perfectly! The club needs you back!" she yelled back.

"No it doesn't, Rika!" screamed Hanyuu. "I'm just a helpless god, Rika! I can't do anything, and the club was fine when I was gone! Besides… there's someone else the club needs more than me!"  
Rika froze at those words, and the atmosphere died down. Her eyes grew wide, and her breathing escalated. She felt that anger in her stomach fade away as she realized how stupid she was, how she should have just listened to what Hanyuu was saying from the very beginning. She sighed and sat down on the ground, grumbling in defeat.

Hanyuu sat down in front of her, glad that she had finally calmed down. Then, she reached out, placing those hands of hers on Rika's shoulders as she looked her directly in the eye. "Listen up, Rika, I have a plan…"

~~~~X~~~~

**Crimso's Corner.**

**THAT TOOK SO LONG, I'M SORRY! I spent three days setting there, saying "I don't feel like writing anything," and then going to sleep or playing on my 3DS. Plus, my computer was a drag in the beginning (it fixed itself, thank god. That scar on the screen is still there, though. That was from a long time ago, though). It wouldn't type and all that stuff. Oh well, now that school is over, my updates SHOULD have increased. Doesn't matter though. My god… I only have 11 days to finish this! GAAAAAAAAAH!**

**In any case, I hope you enjoyed this chapter~! Do you wonder what Hanyuu's plan is? Have you figured it out? Bah, I bet you have. Oh well, it doesn't really matter. After all… the next chapter is the LAST CHAPTER! Can you believe it? I want to go on about how wonderful you all are, but I'll save that for the last chapter. Well, it may or may not be the last chapter. I think it will be, though. I think.**

**In any case, I think this is the first time I've uploaded a chapter in the middle of the day, huh? It's 4:32:40 PM. I always upload at midnight. I'm going to get steak later, which is wonderful. I love steak. Oh, this is really off topic, now isn't it? I've discovered that listening to music that fits the scene makes your writing a little better, as evident from the ending of the last chapter. I mean, I usually just listen to Lady Gaga (yes, I am a fan of her. Don't judge) and that doesn't really fit the mood. I switched back to some dramatic music I used to listen to all the way back in 5****th**** and 6****th**** grade and that worked a lot better.**

**In any case, review, please! You get a Hanyuu plushie for reviewing. And please, hang on! We have one more chapter left + the epilogue!**

**~Crimso**

**EDIT: GOOOD MY COMPUTER ISN'T LETTING ME UPLOAD ANYTHING ON FF. Stupid computer! *kicks!***


	37. Chapter 36: Queen of the Demons

**Good morning peoples! Well, it's morning here, anyways. Actually, it's 12:55:14 to be exact, and that's not really morning. FF is still acting stupid. It won't let me upload chapters and such so I have to use my sister's old computer. Speaking of which, it's my older sister's birthday today (June 12****th****). Meanwhile, my birthday isn't until September. By the way, this fanfiction turned three months old on the 1****st****. I forgot to mention it. Oops. Yesterday was insane, man. I was going to write this chapter up through all of yesterday but I ended up falling asleep. I had some dream I was with my grade on a camping trip (two things I hate) and I couldn't move my right hand for some reason the whole time. I woke up, and it turns out I had fallen asleep on my hand. That explains it.**

**Actually, this is not the last chapter. I will be uploading this and the last chapter at the same time, so no worries.**

**~36~**

~~~~X~~~~

Two young girls burst from the Saiguden, one invisible to everyone save for the other girl, and made their way into the thick forest. They tried their best not to be seen by the villagers who were constantly on the search for Sonozaki Mion, who was a few hours dead by this point. There was no way they could find her, buried underneath the ground near the giant tree that watched over all of Hinamizawa. She panted as she made for the mountains, finding it rather hard to run uphill while avoiding the trees.

"Are you sure that she left it over here?" Rika spoke in between her heavy breaths as she made for the top of the hill.

Hanyuu nodded as she simply floated over the ground, finding it rather easy to go upwards. "I'm pretty sure that she left it there, unless it was accidently broken or something similar. I mean, where else could it be?"

Rika nodded her head. "Well I hope you're right," she grumbled. "My legs already hurt."

The two of them continued their journey up the mountain until they ran right past the camping grounds, stopping right there. They looked about the area as Rika placed her hands on her hips, listening to the sounds around them. It didn't take very long for Rika to pick up the sound of water rushing through the nearby area, indicating that they were near the river that they had fought Mion near. Rika nodded to Hanyuu as she slowly made her way into the forest, avoiding the low branches and the tangles of plants on the ground.

They soon came to the river, which was the same as they had left it. Drops of blood stained a few of the pebbles, the lapping of the river just barely missing it. Rika's attention was not focused on the blood, however, and rather around the riverbank, as she looked frantically about the area. Her eye soon caught sight of a glint of metal that lay close by and she walked over to it, observing the object on the ground.

"The Sword of a Thousand Demons," she whispered as she placed her hand above it, though not touching the hilt. "The sword from the Tale of Sonozaki Ayame."

Hanyuu nodded slowly. "Or," she spoke, touching the blade, "correctly, it would be The Sword of a Thousand and One Demons," she breathed. She ran her transparent fingers down the blade, not feeling the cool metal or the slice of the blade. "Mion's spirit is trapped inside of there. "

"Yeah," spoke Rika, having to restrain herself from touching the enchanting blade. "Are you sure we can get her out of there?"

Hanyuu let out a sigh as she sat down on the pebbles, staring at her transparent reflection in the cursed blade. "Everyone who has been killed by this blade, everyone who has handled this blade is trapped within this sword. They say a demon went around killing other demons with this sword before Madoka killed her and snatched the blade away from her. She was her ancestor, I believe," she spoke as she gently tapped the silver blade. "So many demons are within here, but a few human spirits dwell inside. They are instantly destroyed by the demons within, they say," she spoke. "The demons suck their spirits out and absorb them, giving themselves some power."

Rika gulped. "So, what do we have to do in order to get Mion's spirit out of the sword?" she asked, gazing into the sword as if she could see within it.

"It's simple," spoke Hanyuu. "I need to use a lot of power I have obtained from the belief in Oyashiro-sama that is going around the village at the moment to send someone inside of the sword. It is risky, as the demons are likely to kill this person. They must find Mion within the sword, as she will be fine since she is demon. Then, they have to pull her out of it using more of my power." Hanyuu let out a small sigh. "However, the power needed to pull a spirit out is so great that I will probably die in the process."

Rika gave Hanyuu a worried glance. "Are you really sure about this, Hanyuu? I-I can't imagine what it would be like without you near me," she whispered, reaching out to touch the goddess though she knew that it was impossible. "We've been together for a really long time, and now you're saying that you'll disappear… forever?"

"If I pull Mion out from the sword, I will die," she spoke. "But I believe that I've had enough of this silly god life. All I can really do is watch. Aside from that, the club needs Mion back. It… it just isn't the same without her."

Rika nodded as she placed her hands on the hilt of the sword, struggling to lift it up in the small, weak hands of hers. "Well then, Hanyuu, if you insist we do so, I'll follow along with you. Besides," she whispered as she gazed at the sword. "I hate seeing Shion and Keiichi like this. No, wait, not just them. The whole club like this."

"Okay, if you agree, then I need you to go to Keiichi and tell him this…"

~~~~X~~~~

A young teenager was sitting on what was apparently the ground, her eyes wide. She glanced around her, finding there to be nothing but white. She had been here a while, but in that time, she had never quite figured out where she was. The whole area she was standing in was nothing but an endless void of white and no more. There were no trees, no rocks, no rivers, no water, no nothing aside from white. She found herself unable to stand up, her legs heavy. She whipped her head about the area, trying to find some form of life, some form of _anything. _

"W-Where am I?" the teen spoke as she scooted backwards. "There's nothing here, nothing!"

"I wouldn't say there's nothing here…" a voice echoed throughout the area.

The girl screeched as she heard the voice, and her eyes grew even wider, if that was even possible. She turned her head around and around, trying to find the source of that voice. "Where are you!" she screamed out as she backed away, her body placed on a blanket of white. "WHO are you?"

There was a loud, sickly cackle that rang out through the void, causing the girl to cringe. "Right behind you, human."

She instantly turned around and screamed at the sight she saw behind her. There stood two people, one male, one female, who gave of a dangerous and ominous aura. They looked like normal people, but the girl could tell right away that that was not the case. The female had long, silver hair that reached down to her waist along with a pair of bright pink eyes. Next to her stood a male, who was a little chubby, but was otherwise quite handsome.

The male tilted his head to the side as he observed the girl. "Hey, Manami, I don't think I've seen this girl around here before," he spoke, taking a step closer to look into the girl's eyes. "She must have ended up in a good spot when she was killed, don't you think?"

The woman, apparently called Manami, let out a large sigh as she nodded her head. "Oh yeah, I bet you anything if she appeared closer to the other demons, you would have eaten her in a matter of twelve seconds. Isn't that right, tentacle pig? Don't eat her now, I have a little conversing to do here." she chuckled.

The man frowned instantly. "Excuse me, I cannot help what I look like!"

The girl titled her head to the side as she watched the strange sight before her, almost fooled by their behavior. Though, in her mind, she knew that these two people were no good. "Excuse me," she spoke, "but if you would, could you tell me where I am and who you are, exactly?" she requested.

Manami laughed, though her laugh sounded kind of animalistic to the girl on the ground. "Oh, you don't know, human? You are trapped inside The Sword. Or rather, your spirit is trapped inside of The Sword. You are no longer alive," she said, pointing to the girl. "As for your second question, I am Manami, also known as the Elegant Demon of Lust, which I'd prefer you to call me. Have you ever heard of me in the books of Onifaguchi? I was a cruel demon who tricked men into loving me before I killed them brutally," she spoke. "As for this guy over here… he is Isao, the Gluttonous Demon. He's a demon pig with tentacles. He stunned people by looking at them and then ate them four or five at a time."

Isao grinned. "One time, I ate a hundred people in one week!"

The girl looked rather shocked and confused. The people before her were… demons? She bit her lip as she looked up upon them, finding a new found fear for them. "Are you guys dead then, too? I thought all the demons aside from Mion were dead!"

The Elegant Demon nodded. "We are dead. We are also trapped inside the Sword. We are one of the 1,001 demon spirits in here."

"One thousand and-" the girl gawked, her jaw wide. "Isn't that the sword from the Tale of Sonozaki Ayame? Isn't that the sword she killed Madoka with?"

The Gluttonous Demon laughed. "Oh, Sonozaki Ayame, you say? Oh yeah, she killed Madoka with that, all right! Poor Madoka was so humiliated when it happened. You should have seen the look on her face when she first appeared here!" he spoke in between his hysterical laughter.

Then, he stopped, and a evil smirk appeared on his face, one filled with sadism. "You see, Sonozaki Ayame was a demon, but she was not quite a demon. She absorbed her powers from Sayuri, hm? She used the sword to kill her family and Madoka. As such, she came to this sword after she died. However, as she was not a true demon, Sayuri's spirit was called back and she once again became human. Madoka made quick work of her after that."

The girl's eyes widened. "So that means…"  
Manami laughed. "Sonozaki Ayame's spirit is gone, girl. Her and her twin sister and husband had their spirits destroyed by the demons when they ended up here. Madoka was sure that she got her revenge on her, and punished those two human fools for being close to her! It was a sight to see, I must say!" she cackled.

The girl gulped. _So, this is how the Tale of Sonozaki Ayame truly ended, huh? _"S-So… Sayuri and Madoka…"

"Are both here," finished Isao. "They're both strolling around the area like all of the other demons. Sayuri returned to her form again, as Manami said."

Manami leaned down and put her face dangerously close to the girl's, causing her jump a little in shock. Manami grinned widely, her smile not happy, but full of evil in such great amounts. "Say, girl, what's your name?" she spoke as she gazed into the girl's eyes. "And how might have you gotten into this sword?"

The girl took a few scoots back, wanting to be as far away from the demon before her as possible. "Etsuko. Ohba Etsuko," she answered, running a hand through her dyed pink hair, which she still hated quite a bit. "I was killed by the sword, how else?"

Manami raised an eyebrow. "Ah, so you're that girl Queen Green-Eyes was after. I guess she killed you in the end and sucked your spirit into this sword without intending to, huh? Well, I guess that means you're stuck here forever. Green-Eyes didn't really know that it sucked in every spirit that handled it or killed it. She was quite surprised when she ended up here.

"Green-Eyes?" spoke Etsuko as she glanced behind her, considering the idea of escaping though she didn't know where she would go. "You mean Sonozaki Mion?" she spoke, only able to figure out whom they were talking about by the contents of their story.

Isao nodded. "Green-Eyes, Green-Eyed Demon, Sonozaki Mion, Demon Queen, Queen of the Demons, whatever the hell you want to call her. She has a lot of titles, but Manami calls her Green-Eyes, you see."

Etsuko growled. "I don't recall Mion being a queen."

"She was the last demon alive. The title of Queen or King is given to the last remaining demon, and now that she's here and no demons are left alive, that means she is queen here as well. Madoka was queen until her birth. She was quite bitter when Mion was born, you see," The Gluttonous Demon explained to the girl.

Etsuko looked a little confused at first, but then she burst out into a large, evil grin. Mion was here? Mion was dead? In that case, her plan was a great success. Well, of course it had been. She planed it out so that there was no way death could be avoided. Thankfully, it had been Mion. Now, she had avenged Hajime. Isao and Manami gave each other a look and then nodded their heads at each other before returning their gaze to the crazed girl in front of them.

"Speaking of which," spoke Isao as he licked his lips, "Miss Green-Eyed wouldn't be very happy to see you here. I guess that means we have no choice. Isn't that right, Manami?"

Manami frowned. "Listen, Gluttonous, I think it would be better if we took her to Miss Green-Eyes herself and ask her what we should do of this human spirit? I'm pretty sure she'll be angry if you ate her soul without permission."

Isao frowned. "Aw… are you sure? How about if instead we got Rei to burn her spirit up?"

Manami shook her head. "I stand by my decision to bring her to Green-Eyes. After all, she's the one who has hurt Green-Eyes the most," she said, eyeing the horrified girl who was currently trying to come up with some way to escape the wrath of Mion.

Both demons grabbed Etsuko by the arms, placing a tight grip on them. She screamed out and began to struggle, trying to pry herself out of the grip. However, they simply tightened their hold on her, finding it no trouble to keep her in place with their demonic strength. It was no use for Etsuko. Without any trouble at all, they began to drag her across the white abyss as she screamed and flailed, knowing that her fate would not be pretty. Why, why couldn't she at least see Hajime in the afterlife? Why did she have to end up trapped inside this sword? A few tears trickled down her eyes and hit the white floors. A trail of small, salty drops was left behind as she was dragged further and further away.

Etsuko threw her head back to get a look of what was ahead. The area was still full of white, though she was able to make out a few figures, all of which she automatically assumed were also demons. They were all quite unique, almost none of them the same from another. All of the demons turned to stare as Manami and Isao dragged Etsuko through the crowd. They murmured to themselves, wondering exactly who she was and why she was here in the first place.

However, they did not stop dragging her there. She tried to look ahead of her by tilting her head back, though she found the vision wasn't all that great with all the demons blocking the path. She couldn't tell what was up ahead. Why was everyone crowded here, anyways? Was there something special about this spot of white that made it any different from the white beyond?

Then, she felt the floor grow bump beneath her. She looked under her, finding that she was being dragged up steps. She looked to her side to find two torches lighting the way upwards along with several demons who sat on the edges, each and every one of them eyeing her suspiciously.

"Manami, Isao!" cried a male demon as they ascended up the steps. "Who is that?"

"You shall see in due time, Kohaku," spoke Manami as she gave the demon a quick glance before returning her gaze on what lay ahead.

Etsuko was desperately trying to see what awaited her at the top, and what kind of fate she would be given. She gulped. She just wanted to see Hajime again, to feel him again. She sniffled, hoping that Mion would by any chance give her a chance to redeem herself, to apologize for what she did. Then again, the apology would be fake, because she was in no way sorry for causing her to die. She deserved it.

Then, the stairs stopped. She was dragged a few more centimeters before both Isao and Manami dropped her, leaving her sprawled out across the ground she was sitting on. She scrambled to sit up, wondering to herself if she could possibly make an escape.

The sight in front of her shocked her, to say the least. A giant throne was in front of her, decorated by many ominous patterns. Faces of many demons were engraved into the stone chair, ones that caused Etsuko to gulp. A cushion was placed on the throne, one of a blood red color. But what was the most surprising was the figure that sat on the throne. There, clad in a bright white kimono, sat Sonozaki Mion. She looked down upon Etsuko with morose eyes, her face looking almost melancholic. Two identical demons sat in front of the throne, eyeing the only human in the whole area with suspicion.

"M-Mion!" she cried out as she focused her gaze on the Demon Queen. "I-I'm sorry, I'm truly sorry! I'm sorry for causing you to die, I'm sorry for making you think that Rena and I were out for Keiichi, I'm sorry for kicking you out of your group of friends seven years ago! I'm really sorry!" Etsuko lied as she hung her head down, shutting her eyes tightly. She pretended that the tears running down her face were ones of guilt, and not ones of longing for her Hajime.

Mion narrowed her eyes at the girl, though her sorrowful aura did not chance. "Etsuko, I figured you'd show up, seeing as I killed you with that sword. I didn't expect to get such an apology from you, however."

Etsuko grinned as she looked up at her. "Oh, so does that mean you'll let me live? Does that mean you'll send me back? Does that mean you'll let me see Hajime again, oh great Demon Queen?"

Mion's look did not change. She showed no sign of complying to her wishes, causing Etsuko to grow a little worried, but she still remained hopeful as she wore a fake grin on her face in attempt to convince her. With a sigh, Mion glanced over to the two demons that sat below her. "Madoka, Sayuri, silence this… huma-… girl," she ordered them.

With a sigh, the demon on her right reluctantly obeyed as she brought out a brown sash. She held it up to the girl's mouth as the other demon happily tied it. Etsuko tried to protest, but the sash around her mouth muffled any words she had for the Demon Queen in front of her. She looked up at the Green-Eyed Demon with fear in her purple eyes, knowing that her fate wasn't going to be pretty.

Mion got up from her throne, brushing off her elegant kimono. Sayuri nodded as she took a few steps, drawing her unwillingly sister along with her. Mion looked down upon the struggling girl, a sad look in her eyes. "You know, Etsuko, we are very similar. As much as I hate to admit it, we are pretty much the same. We'd both kill for the one we love, as evident by our actions," she spoke.

Then, she got down to her knees, meeting Etsuko's purple eyes with her green ones. "Not only that," she whispered into the girl's ear, "but right now, we'd both do _anything _to see the one we love again."

Etsuko's eyes widened as they exchanged a small moment of understanding. They both understood each other's feelings and their actions, as well as their motivations. They had both killed out of love. They were indeed similar in that sense, but their personalities had quite a large gap in between them. They were both the same, something that none of the two of them had ever realized before. And now, in this moment, they could finally understand those feelings they both had, those feelings of love and desire for their special one.

Then, with a sigh, Mion stood up straight, looking at all the demons around her. "…Kill her!" she bellowed out to all the demons below her. "Destroy her soul until she is no more!"

And then, out of nowhere, a storm of demons came charging at her. Isao tackled her, causing her to roll down several stairs and meet with a pack of howling demons coming at her. Her eyes widened and she braced herself for what was to come. The demons all attacked at once, scratching her with sharp claws, biting her with dagger-like fangs, punching her with fists as powerful as steel. She cried out in agony as the weight of all the demons began to crush her. Her screams, however, were muffled by the brown sash, making her almost unable to be heard.

She felt a demon tear her stomach, sending fresh blood splattering on the group of demons. They began to tear into the wound, attacking her inside. Even though she was a spirit, she found herself still able to feel pain. However, the pain she felt was not just emitting from her stomach, where the wound was. She felt pain all over her body, from her head to the tip of her toes. Her spirit was dying, and that's why she could feel it all over.

Mion watched as they tore the girl up into pieces, watching as she tried to scream, listening to that one word she was so desperately trying to cry out.

"Hajime," cried Etsuko's muffled voice as she felt her spirit beginning to fade. "HAJIME!"

And at that moment, Mion couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her. She had done so much for her love, and in the end, she never got a happy ending with him. She let out a large sigh as she sat down on the red cushion, leaning her body on her left elbow. She too would never have a happy ending with Keiichi, and could understand how she felt. _We… we really are similar… aren't we? _Mion thought as she ran a finger down the stone that made up her throne. _We both won't ever be happy with our loves. That's already impossible._

Tears came out of Etsuko's eyes as she felt her legs fade away into nothing, and then slowly, her hips. She reached out to Mion, hoping that she would save her. She realized just then that she had done a cruel thing, a thing that shouldn't ever be forgiven. She had been trying to hurt her with love, an emotion that she longed for so much. And in trying to save her own already hopeless love story, she had destroyed another. If she hadn't done such a thing, surely Mion and Keiichi would be happy together.

And, slowly, as she felt her whole face begin to fade away, she whispered two simple words, two words that would forever go unheard by anyone.

"I'm sorry."

This time, she truly meant it.

Mion watched as her mouth disappeared, and soon, all that was left of her was her eyes, staring up at her with tears trickling down what was left of her cheek and onto the white, which made up this cursed world she was in.

And then, her spirit was no more.

~~~~X~~~~

Keiichi let out a large sigh as he scribbled down the answer to a rather easy math problem on his page. Slowly, he got up and walked over to Chie, who currently had her nose buried in a book. With another sigh, he placed the piece of paper on the table for her to look over. Chie raised an eyebrow as she placed her book all about curry on the table and picked up the piece of paper. She let out a sigh as she shook her head, handing the piece of paper back to Keiichi.

"It's still wrong, Maebara-san. Go back and try again," she told him gently.

Keiichi frowned as he took the piece of paper back and sat down at his desk, scratching his head ferociously. He had been working on the same problem all day. And for some reason, no matter how hard he worked on it, he couldn't seem to get it right. He wasn't thinking properly today at all. He grumbled as he placed his head down on the table, thinking about all that had happened the day before. He couldn't possibly focus on doing his math homework at this moment!  
It seemed as if all the club members were out of it today. Shion spent the whole time at her desk, looking down blankly at her sheet of paper, which she hadn't even touched. Satoko and Rika were both spacing out and Rena had fallen asleep at her desk while Ryota tried to wake her up before the teacher noticed. It just wasn't the same without Mion there.

He looked to the empty space next to Shion and frowned. There was no Mion there, asking for his help with her math homework or complaining about how kids should spend their childhood playing games and not doing work in school all day. It seemed very empty without her complaints. He sniffled a little at the very thought of her. How was he to continue on without her, his club leader and best friend?

Shion placed her head on the desk and began to sob quietly. Keiichi frowned as he watched her. This had to be the fourth time today. He gave one glance to Chie, who was currently occupied with the curry book, and scooted his chair over to the girl. Ever so gently, he placed his hand on her shoulder, catching her attention instantly.

'_Shion, are you going to be all right or do you want to spend some time outside?' _Keiichi wrote down on the sheet of paper placed on Shion's desk.

'_I should be all right,'_ Shion wrote down on the paper, sniffling as she did so. _'I… I just can't stop thinking about her.'_

Keiichi nodded. _'I know how you feel, Shion. I want you to remember what I said to you though, okay? Hang in there, for Satoko. And for Satoshi.'_

Shion stared down at what he wrote, her eyes focused on the two names. Slowly, she turned to Keiichi, the tears in her eyes growing rapidly. "I know," she spoke, her voice sounding broken, "I just don't know how much longer I can hold on for."

It didn't take much longer for Chie to notice the two of them. She approached them, a frown on her face. "Shion-san, do you want to step outside for a little bit? O-Or as long as you want," she spoke, instantly knowing her sorrow had to do with Mion's disappearance. She knew that the Sonozaki Twins were close, and the disappearance of one of them would surely shake the other. "If you want, Maebara-san can come with you…"

Shion gave Keiichi a tearful glace, which was all that he needed to know that she wanted him with her. He gave Chie a quick nod before standing up and pushing his chair in. Shion snatched up her bag for some reason Keiichi wasn't quite sure of and then pushed her chair in, walking out the door of the classroom. Keiichi followed her close behind as they stepped out into the fresh, summer air.

"So, did you want to talk to me about something?" Keiichi asked her once they were outside.

Shion nodded slowly, holding her bag close to her chest as she looked down at the ground. She sat herself down on the ground, placing the bag in her lap as she stared at it wordlessly. Keiichi frowned at such a sight. Shion was usually such a kind, spirited girl. Seeing her like this was simply horrible.

"You and Mion… you two have always been together, haven't you?" he spoke as he traced patterns in the dust.

Shion slowly nodded. "Yeah, we have been. Ever since birth… no, before that," she spoke as she touched the material that made up the bag that was placed ever so gently on her lap. "She and I did so many things together. I remember the time when we fooled around with those people who were making the dam, and I remember when we used to pull pranks on the villagers, particularly poor Rika."

Keiichi nodded, deciding that he would listen to everything that she had to say. "You two really loved each other."

Shion smiled sadly. "Yeah, we really did. We were together, always, until that day where the Sonozaki family tore us apart. We…. we really haven't been the same since that," she spoke, tracing patterns on her bag. "We didn't see each other for a long, long time. You see, the Sonozaki family didn't want me to be in the main house, which is reserved for the head and the heir. So they sent me away with my parents and intended to prevent us from seeing each other."

Keiichi frowned. "Was that around the time where she… you know, kille-"

Shion looked at him, sadness in her eyes. "It must have been."

He sighed, recalling the story Ryota had told them about her killing those poor children due to how lonely she was and how Etsuko had shut her out. It was sad to hear, knowing that Mion had once been a lonely child without anyone to play with. That wasn't something that sounded like Mion, who was always hanging out with her friends and having fun.

Shion slowly zipped open the bag that was placed on her lap, causing Keiichi to grow rather curious as to what was inside. Shion fished around a little with her hand until she felt something soft touch her fingers. Then, she pulled something out of her bag, causing Keiichi to grow rather confused.

"A… cat?" he spoke, looking down at the plush cat that she held in her hand. It had very soft, brown fabric for fur as well as two black button eyes. Around its neck was a dark green ribbon.

Shion nodded as she touched its soft, plush paws. "Yeah, this is Azumi. You see, she was Mion's toy cat she had when we were little. Mother bought them for us when we were still babies," she explained to him. Then, she dove a hand into her bag, pulling out an identical plush cat save for the fact that the bow around its next was of a lighter color. "This was mine, Ayumi. You see? They're identical twins."

Keiichi was going to question why she had brought such an object to school, but he quickly shut his mouth when he realized the meaning behind these animals. These two plush, identical twin cats surely reminded Shion of herself and Mion. "You see, I bring them with me because it's the only thing I have left of Mion. It… it's like we're together, see?" she said, holding the two twin cats close.

Keiichi nodded, instantly understanding her feelings. There wasn't much left of Mion aside from the memory of her, which was tainted by the image of that ferocious demon attempting to brutally murder Rena. This item could remind Shion of the times they had together as a kid, and not the last days of Mion's life.

Shion sniffled a little bit, sensing that the tears were going to start coming down again. She gave Keiichi a sorrowful look before she burst out into tears, hugging the two plush cats close to her chest as she sobbed wildly.

Watching her cry like this was hurting him. Keiichi pulled himself closer to him, feeling intense pain in his heart. He felt those tears coming back again, tears for the girl he was in love with. He had prevented himself from confessing to her because he was scared she didn't feel the same, he was scared he wouldn't be able to move on easily if she were to reject him. And here he was, having trouble moving on because he _wouldn't _confess. If he had just spoken those three simple words earlier, if he had told her how he felt about her, she would surely still be alive.

"Kei-chan, please, stay here with me for a little while longer," Shion spoke in between her sobs.

Keiichi slowly nodded. "I'll stay here as long as you need, Shion," he whispered.

~~~~X~~~~

School passed by rather quickly after the incident happened. Keiichi had returned to the classroom about forty-five minutes afterwards along with Shion, who had cried out the final bits of her pain. She was still sniffling a little, but Keiichi knew that the worst of it was probably over for her. He gave her a quick look as she pushed in her chair, her bag slung over her shoulder. She walked out of the classroom without a word with Satoko, Rena, and Ryota behind her. None of them bothered asking if there were any club activities after school, as they all knew the answer. There weren't any.

Just as he was about to collect his things and leave, he felt a small hand tug on his pants. He looked down, surprised to meet the purple eyes of Furude Rika looking straight up at him. He faked a grin, wondering to himself why she didn't go with Satoko. "Is there something wrong, Rika-chan?" he asked her.

Rika gave him a grim look, allowing her hand to drop from his pants. "Please, Keiichi, follow me outside so we can talk for a little bit."

Keiichi was a little confused, but he decided to listen to what Rika had to say to him. What exactly did she want to talk to him about? Did it have anything to do with Mion's murder? Keiichi shrugged as he followed Rika outside into the garden, where several kids were busy tending to Chie's curry garden as a part of their afterschool chores. Rika gave them a quick look to make sure that they were unable to hear whatever she was saying before she gestured for Keiichi to sit down.

"So, what is it, Rika-chan?" he asked her.

Rika looked a little hesitant, looking over to the side and thinking for a little bit. Then, she returned her gaze to Keiichi, looking into his blue eyes with her purple ones filled with sorrow. "Keiichi, I need to ask you something first. Do you remember the katana Mion had when she was trying to kill Rena back over by the river?" she asked the brown-haired boy.

Keiichi titled his head to the side. "Katana? What Kat-" he began to ask, before the memories came flooding back to him. Ah, that was right. Mion had brought a katana with her, one that she used to try to kill Rena. "Oh yeah, that katana. The one she had strapped to her back. What happened to that katana, anyways?" he murmured, scratching his head to try to remember what exactly became of that weapon.

"Well, I told you about the katana Ayame used to kill Madoka, yes? I spoke about her using her father's katana along with the katana that was said to contain the spirits of one thousand demons," she said, hoping that she had remembered to include that in her explanation of the story. "Well, the one she was using was the same exact one from the legend. The one that was said to contain the spirits of one thousand demons," she explained to him.

Keiichi's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. "Excuse me?" he cried out. "But it doesn't really contain the spirits of a thousand demons, right?" he spoke.

Rika shook her head. "It really does, Keiichi. The Sword of a Thousand Demons is real. There really is the spirits of a thousand demons within that sword. You see, anyone who is killed by that sword, including humans, and anyways who attempts using the sword, including humans, ends up trapped in their after death," she explained to him. "I have the sword back at the Saiguden, just so you know."

The fact that the sword actually contained a thousand demon sprits was hard for Keiichi to take in at first, but he decided that he needed to trust his friends. Besides, if demons existed, why not a sword that could absorb them? "So, what exactly does this sword have to do with anything?"

"Like I said, it absorbs the spirits of the people who use it," Rika repeated. "So, since Mion used it… her spirit is inside that sword."

"W-Wha-" was all Keiichi could say before Rika grabbed his hand and tugged on it, telling him to get up. His mind was racing with ideas as to what Rika was trying to accomplish by telling him such at thing.

Rika smiled. "Follow me, Keiichi. I'll explain everything after."

And so, shrugging, Keiichi followed Rika, curious as to what she was planning to do. She led him down the all too familiar dusty paths of Hinamizawa and past the Furude Shrine. Some people were still at the scene of the Watanagashi festival, doing some final cleaning up of the grounds. He could see Ooishi there with several police officers, and Keiichi automatically assumed that he was investigating Mion's disappearance along with the murder of Etsuko and Kiichirou. Eventually, Rika dragged him into the forest, still giving him almost no indication as to where they were going.

They eventually ended up in front of the great Saiguden. Keiichi rubbed his temples when he caught sight of it, realizing that he should have known where they were going from the very beginning. Rika grinned at him before she walked up the stairs to the great tool shrine, holding up a hand, which was the silent signal that told him to stay put. Of course, the Saiguden was only to be entered by the members of the Great Furude family.

Soon, Rika came out, holding the giant sword by the hilt with both of her hands. It looked awfully heavy for a ten-year-old like her to carry. She placed it down on the grass, motioning for Keiichi to sit down, which he did. She sat down with him, gazing down at the cursed katana. This was the sword said to contain the spirits of a thousand demons? Keiichi touched the hilt gently, in awe of its great power.

"This is indeed The Sword of a Thousand Demons," she spoke, also touching the hilt with her tiny fingers. "You see, Keiichi, as the name implies and as I have told you before, there are a thousand demon spirits in here. Well, now, I guess it's a thousand and one demons spirits," she murmured. "Since, you know, Mion is in there now."

Keiichi nodded slowly, running his fingers down the hilt of the cursed katana. Somewhere within that sword was the demon he loved. He let out a sigh, wondering exactly what he was to do now that he knew of this fact. "So, Rika, why did you tell me this?" he asked her, curious.

Rika smiled at him. "Well, you see, I have a plan here, to pull Mion's spirit right out of that sword and revive her. It takes a ton of power, but I think we can do it," she spoke, glancing over to the side of her and nodded at nothing, as if someone was there.

Keiichi's jaw dropped, practically reaching the ground, and his heart began to race. They could revive Mion? They could bring back his best friend, and the girl he loved oh so much? "W-Wait a moment, Rika-chan! How are we going to get enough power to pull Mion's spirit out of there AND revive her?" he asked, his eyes wide.

"Well, we need to ask Oyashiro-sama for help. You have to go up to the shrine and ask her to lend you her power so you can go into the sword and search for her. When you find her, you just take her hand and Oyashiro-sama will bring both you and Mion's spirit out of there. There, she will convert Mion into a psychical form," she explained to the shocked brown-haired boy. "However, you need to ask Oyashiro-sama nicely or else she might not help. Then, you must thank her. After all… using up so much power is fatal."

"Wait a moment," spoke Keiichi after hearing those last words, "are you saying that Oyashiro-sama… will die?"

Rika glanced back over to the right side of her. "Maybe, it depends on how much power she ends up using. She might just have a tiny bit of power left, which should hopefully be enough for her to sustain herself," she told him, returning her gaze to the boy.

Keiichi nodded slowly. "All right, I think I understand. So, who is going to go in there and get her?" he asked her.

Rika smiled, and slowly lifted her finger up, pointing at the boy in front of her. "Didn't I tell you already?" she chuckled. "You."

At that moment, Rika could have sworn that Keiichi's eyes grew to the size of a tennis ball. He looked confused and panicked as he sat there with his mouth wide open. "W-Wait a moment! You can't be serious! Mion is one of one thousand and one! Surely the other demons will attack me if I get close to them!" he cried out. "Besides, how am I supposed to find Mion with a thousand other spirits wandering about? Isn't it dangerous?"

Rika narrowed her eyes and gave him a stern look, which instantly silenced any of his protests. "Now is not the time for worrying, Keiichi! Mion is trapped in that sword, and will be forever! Don't you want Mion back? Don't you love her? Wouldn't you do anything just to see her again, just to hear her voice again? Then running through a pack of demons should be nothing compared to the spirit you have, nothing!" she yelled at him.

The words of Furude Rika instantly brought Keiichi back. He then realized that she was right. Who cares about running through a sword containing a thousand demons aside from the one he loved? He clenched his fists, remembering the image of Sonozaki Mion. He looked back into his memories, recalling the ones of her. He remembered when she first greeted him, he remembered when she first invited him to join the club, he remembered when she tried to take Takano's bullet for every one of them, and finally, he remembered her smiling face. He clenched his fists together, his determination rising with each second he spent recalling that beautiful face of hers.

Then, with all his spirit, he stood up, a determined look on his face. "I'll do it!" he cried out to the whole world. "I'll go in there, and I'll save her!"

"Keiichi!" cried Rika as she stood up, excitement filling her. "All right, that's the spirit! That's the Keiichi I know who taught me to defy fate!" she spoke, raising her fist in the air.

"Just tell me what to do, and I'll do it," he said.

Rika grinned at him with her shiny, white teeth. "All right then! Listen, take this sword and place it in front of the door of the Saiguden. All you have to do is ask The Great Oyashiro-sama to lend you her power so that you can enter the sword and pull Mion out. Try your best, all right? Remember, you are talking to Oyashiro-sama, after all," she spoke, holding out the Sword of a Thousand Demons for him to take.

Keiichi took the sword into his arms carefully, making sure that the blade did not go anywhere near his skin. He nodded as he turned around and walked up the steps to the forbidden Saiguden, placing the sword down in front of the door. At that moment, as he stared at the sword, he had to wonder about Oyashiro-sama, and what Rika had told him. Did the god really exist? He had decided for himself that he did not when they discovered that Takano was behind the chain of deaths, but now, Rika was saying otherwise. Well, now, he supposed he'd find out.

He wasn't too sure what to say to the god. Was there something specific he had to say in order to speak with the great god of Hinamizawa? He glanced over to Rika, who simply gave him a reassuring smile. Then, he returned his vision to the sword in front of him with a gulp. He bent down on his knees, looking up at the Saiguden.

"Uh… Great Oyashiro-sama, will you lend me your power?" he spoke, saying the first thing that came to his head as he could think of nothing else. Hopefully, it would work.

Silence followed for a little while, silence in which Keiichi sat down on the ground, blinking. Perhaps it hadn't been the right words? Or perhaps Oyashiro-sama didn't even exist and was never going to respond to his call in the first place. In any case, Keiichi decided the best option would be to simply sit there and wait to see if he would receive any response from the shrine god.

"And why should I help you, human?" a voice boomed out from the air, causing Keiichi to jump back in shock. The voice sounded like the voice of a female, like a voice he had heard before. And yet, the voice was still unclear enough for him to be unable to tell whom exactly it belonged to.

Keiichi hesitated. "I need to save my friend!" he suddenly yelled out to the god.

"Why should I save your friend?" bellowed Oyashiro-sama. "I have seen many people come to me, begging for mercy. Some of them ask for my power, the power to revive a human who they were close to. What exactly makes you any different from these people?" the god questioned.

Keiichi was taken back by the questions, but he knew he had to remain calm. With a deep breath, he collected his emotions, figuring out just what he should say. "No, I'm no different from those people. I'm no different from those people who beg for their loved ones back, and I'm no different from the people who have asked for your help in the past. However! There is a reason! I was the person, the reason why Mion is dead! It's all my fault that she's nothing anymore! I… I would do anything just to see her smiling face again! Mion is a strong girl, a girl who has brought happiness to all my friends and the entire village. She's a person who truly deserves to live on! I know the dangers ahead, and I understand just how hard it is for you to do this for me. And if you don't want to, then that's fine," he breathe, gazing up at the air before him. "I just want you to know that I love her with all my heart, because she's my Sonozaki Mion."

Keiichi stood there, breathing. He gulped, knowing that the words he spoke were probably not enough for the god. He was about to give up, about to turn away in defeat, when he suddenly heard a laughter come out from the air in front of him. And then, suddenly, a clearer voice. "That is correct, Keiichi! You've really proved that you're dedicated to Mion, and for that, I applaud you! Au au!" a cheerful, young voice spoke.

For a moment, Keiichi was shocked. That voice was the voice that belonged to the club member who had left them just over a few weeks ago. "H… Hanyuu?" he spoke in disbelief.

"Yup, it's me! Even though you can't see me, it is most certainly I, Furude Hanyuu!" spoke the voice of Hanyuu from in front of him. "You see, I was just testing you to see if you were truly ready for what you were about to face. And now, from that, I can see that you are indeed ready," she spoke.

Keiichi couldn't believe his ears. Hanyuu, the young girl who was once a member of the club, was the great Oyashiro-sama? It was a rather hard fact for him to accept, but now that the truth was right in front of him, he simply had to believe. Besides, that wasn't really what mattered at the moment. He nodded slowly. "All right then, Hanyuu, I'm ready for this! So, take me to her! Take me within the sword!"

"All right, then, hang on, tight, Keiichi! You're going in!"

~~~~X~~~~

**Crimso's Corner.**

**Hi. Just here to quickly say please review this chapter along with the next. I know I uploaded them at the same time, but it shouldn't be too hard for you just to write up two reviews. Reviewers of this chapter shall get a plushie of Demon Mion with her bloodstained kimono. You also get her throne.**

**Read on, folks.**

**~Crimso.**


	38. Chapter 37: Finale

**Hello there people. If you haven't reviewed the last chapter, please do so. It will be appreciated. With that, let's move on to the very, very last chapter aside from the epilogue, which I don't even know if I have time to write up before I go to camp. This was originally combined with the last chapter, but it got to be like… 19,000 words so I split it in two as the first and second part aren't totally relevant and I don't want to give you a monster of a chapter that will scare readers away. **

**Can you believe that it's really the last chapter? I can't. Man, it's been so much fun writing this fanfiction for you guys, you have no idea. Well, please hang on and enjoy the final chapter of **_**Green-Eyed Demon.**_

**~37~**

~~~~X~~~~

With a grumble, the brown-haired boy returned to his two feet, rubbing his head. Keiichi's senses were all confused, and he was finding it hard to even keep himself standing. He stumbled about the area, murmuring a few things to himself as he tried to bring his senses back to normal. "Damn, what the heck just happened?" he asked himself. The last thing he could remember was looking into the katana, gazing at his reflection in it. Now, suddenly, he was…

…Wait, where was he? He peaked open his eyes, still a little dizzy, and looked about the area, finding there to be nothing but an endless void of white. He scratched his head as he tried to remember exactly where he was.

Oh, that was right. He was in the Sword of a Thousand Demons. Looking around, he found himself unable to see any demons around the area. There was nothing besides endless white. There was no life aside from him whatsoever. He crossed his arms with a sigh. "I thought that this place was going to bustling with an endless amount of demon spirits, but I guess I was wrong," he murmured.

With a sigh, he kicked the white ground. "Well, I guess I just got to move on!" he yelled out, his attitude changing in a flash. That was right. He couldn't let his spirits go down simply because the area wasn't as expected. While it made the task a little harder, he was glad that at least there were no demons trying to eat his head at the moment. With a determined smile, he walked on into the white, glancing about the area as he did so.

It seemed as if there really was nothing but white. Well, he supposed there wasn't very much to expect from a sword. After quite a bit of walking, he noticed a two, faint figures in the distance. He squinted his eyes so he could get a better look at the demons in front of him, trying to see if any of them were Mion. On closer inspection, he found that none of them were the demon he was looking for. He walked a little to the right before continuing straight, hoping to god he didn't run into any sadistic demons that wanted to kill. He eyed the demons as they got closer and closer, wondering if they were the type who would instantly attack him if he got close.

Then again, what demon wouldn't? They were demons. Demons were evil beings who loved killing. He shook that thought out of his head, realizing that anything he said about them also applied to his best friend. But then again, Mion was different from most demons, wasn't she? She was a girl with a pure, kind heart. Sure, she went insane before she died, but that wasn't exactly her fault. She was fine when not provoked. At that moment, he had to wonder if the other demons were the same. Would they really attack him?

And then, suddenly, without any warning, a demon turned her head around and met him straight in the eye. Her eyes were a fiery orange, and did not seem very pleased. She snarled at him, instantly sensing he was human, as she had not seen him before. She whipped her whole body around and growled at the human boy, showing off her white teeth.

"Ah, what is it Rei?" a male demon spoke as he turned to look at what the other demon was staring at. He too narrowed his eyes when he spotted Keiichi, causing the poor boy's heart rate to increase. He grinned widely as he looked at him, licking his lips. "Ohoho, it looks like we have another human. It has not been long since we took down that other one, hm?" he spoke, cracking his knuckles.

Keiichi gulped. "Uh… hi there, demons? Will you let me pass? I'm kind of-" he tried to explain.

The demon with the fiery eyes hissed. "What are you doing here, human? Have you too been killed by the sword?"

He scratched the back of his head. "Uh, no, I'm not dead, I'm just-"

"Not dead!" cried the male demon in alarm.

The female narrowed her orange eyes instantly, growling and hissing at him with aggression. "Oh, can't you see that this kid is no more than a little liar? Why don't we just silence him right now before any of the other demons find out about him? I want the killing all to myself, for once," she spoke as her tongue darted out, swiping across her lips.

"Oh, Rei, but isn't that no fair to me? I want to kill him, as well," the other demon spoke, sadism lighting his face.

The other demon frowned. "Ah, then it appears that we just have to share this one, then. You get to do half the work and I get to do half the work, as long as I'm the one who strikes the final blow."

"No, I want to strike the final blow!" cried the male.

"No, I will be the one who kills him," growled the female.

Keiichi gulped. This certainly wasn't good, and the demons certainly weren't any good either. He looked to his side, wondering if he could escape them if he ran fast enough. Then he looked back at the demons that stood there, still arguing about who would get to ultimately kill him. They were completely distracted, leaving Keiichi with a good amount of time to escape. He ran to the side and then dashed forward, passing the two arguing demons with ease.

"Hey look, Shirou! Because of you, he's getting away!" screamed the fiery demon as she pointed to the boy.

"No, it was your fault!" argued the other demon.

The demon named Rei clicked her tongue, annoyed. "Oh, whatever! It doesn't matter, the point is that he's getting away and we have to get him before the others do! RUN!" she cried out before bursting into a sprint. The other demon, Shirou, followed her without delay, staring at Keiichi with eyes filled with hunger for killing.

Keiichi looked behind him, finding that he had a good distance between himself and the two demons. He focused his gaze back to the front of him as he picked up the pace of his running, hoping that he could outrun those demons. He hoped to himself that not all of the demons would try to kill him as soon as they saw him, but he knew that they probably all would considering what he had heard about demons from stories.

"You're not getting away from us, you here us!" cried Shirou. "We're going to eat kill you!"  
Keiichi looked back at the two hungry demons, wondering to himself what horrible fate awaited him if he were to get caught. Surely, he'd be killed in a matter of seconds! And then, what would become of Mion? What would happen to the club if they lost another member? No! He couldn't allow himself to die, he certainly couldn't let another club member bite the dust and leave the rest of them in sorrow once again! He saw clear intent to kill in the demons eyes, which caused him to shudder a little in fear, but he knew he had to be strong and ignore them.

Unfortunately for him, however, he was not looking where he was going. His body collided into another body, sending him falling on the ground. He tried to pick himself up and run, only to find that there was a terribly short distance between them when he did.

"Hey, wait a moment! What in the world is going on here?" the demon he had ran into demanded. She had long, flowing blonde hair and along with that had a pair of rather unnaturally icy blue eyes. The two demons halted in their tracks, gulping in fear.

"Ah, Sayuri! We… we just found this human boy right here and we decided to-" Rei began to explain, rubbing the back of her head nervously. She hadn't intended to be caught by anyone, and now that she was, she had to cover up the fact that she had been trying to kill this boy.

Sayuri raised an eyebrow. "Decided to what? Didn't it become a rule that we had to ask the queen for permission to kill someone before we did so?" she questioned the two of them, walking up to them so that her icy blue eyes stared into the other demon's contrasting fiery red ones.

The male demon grinned nervously. "Er, isn't that right. Ah… uh… yeah. We… We," he tried to speak while attempting to come up with some good excuse.

Rei let out a sigh. "So, why exactly is this a rule again? I don't see why we need permission to kill anyone. It just sounds stupid to me," she grumbled.

"You don't remember, Rei?" Sayuri spoke, glaring into her eyes. "My sister came up with the rule back when she was queen, because she didn't want demons killing humans who appeared without her participating. In fact, she hardly let the others kill the humans. It was usually just because she wanted to kill all the humans that came here herself," she reminded the other two demons.

They both looked at each other and sighed, shrugging. It seemed as if their plan had failed, now that Sayuri, who was very strict on following the queen's orders, had shown up to spoil their fun. She looked at Keiichi, who had been a little too stunned to move. She let out a large sigh as she focused her icy eyes on him. "I guess I have no choice huh? I got to take you to the queen, now."

Keiichi held his hands up. "No, I came here to look for-" he tried to explain to the demon.

"Quiet," hissed Sayuri, "you can explain everything to the Demon Queen, who will decide on your fate."

Keiichi gulped as the two demons that had been chasing him latched onto his arms, pulling him forward towards the area where the other demons probably were. He tried to struggle out of their grip, only to find that it was much too strong for him to get out of. Demons were quite powerful, he noted. They dragged him further and further, with Sayuri leading them and making sure that they didn't just kill him on the spot.

Soon, he noticed a whole bunch of other demons beginning to gather around, wondering why another human had appeared in such a short amount of time. Keiichi gulped as he looked about. These demons all seemed ferocious, so what did that mean for their queen? The queen, the ruler of a group, was always supposed to be the strongest of all. He gulped as he thought about what the queen could possibly look like, and how strong she could possibly be. What if she was a cruel leader who would have him killed without letting him explain himself? Or maybe she would allow him to, but still give him a gruesome, horrifying death? He shuddered at the thought. He didn't want to see the queen, that was for sure. He just hoped he could find Mion among the crowd before they killed him.

He scanned all the demons, desperately searching for one with unmistakable green hair and eyes. And yet, as much as he searched, he was unable to find one that looked remotely like Mion. He gulped, knowing that at this rate, he was never going to find her. There were a thousand and one demons! How was he supposed to find one, single demon amongst a thousand others? He could feel his determination dying, he could feel all hope he had vanishing. Sighing, he accepted the horrible fate ahead. He had to give up. There truly wasn't another option. He shut his eyes as he felt the demons beginning to drag him up a flight of stairs, wondering to himself if it wouldn't be much longer until his death.

"Oh, Queen Green-Eyes! We brought you another human!" cried Sayuri as she pulled the young boy up.

Seated there, on her throne, was Sonozaki Mion. She had her eyes shut tightly, a look of misery on her face. She had her head resting on one arm of her throne, while her body lay scrunched up between that arm and the other. Her legs rested on the other arm, stretching out further than that. "Another human?" she murmured, not quite taking in the details.

Keiichi felt himself being thrown to the ground, his whole body meeting the floor in a burst of pain. And yet, despite that, he refused to open his eyes. He knew that before him was the Queen of the Demons, a demon who he did not want to argue with, a demon who he did not want to see. What did she look like? Surely she was horrifying. He felt his heart beat fast against the cold stone below him, feeling fear for his fate.

Mion let out a sigh. She had already dealt with Etsuko a little while ago, so why was there another human there? Some other demon had already finished off the spirit of Kiichirou without permission from her, causing him to get a good scolding. Surely she was the only other one aside from Kiichirou who had been killed by the sword. Realizing this, Mion suddenly became rather confused and a little surprised. There certainly weren't any other people handling the sword aside from her.

With a sigh, she opened one of her green eyes, looking down at the figure below her with boredom. It only took her less than a few moments for her to recognize the brown hair, and then the clothing and the shape of the boy below her. Both of her eyes shot open and she shifted her position so she was sitting upright in her demonic throne so she could get a better look. She looked over him once, twice, and then three times, each time coming to the conclusion that the boy below her was indeed Keiichi. Shock and confusion washed over her. Why was he here? Had he been killed with the sword? Who had killed him, then?

"K…" she began to speak. "Kei… Kei-chan!" she cried out in alarm.

Keiichi felt shock grow inside of him. Could it possibly be? He opened his eyes just a peak, meeting the stunned eyes of the girl he loved. Then, both of his eyes shot open at what seemed like the speed of light. They both stared at each other in complete and utter shock, neither of them knowing what to say to each other.

Keiichi couldn't help but gasp. Mion, his club leader, his best friend, and the girl he loved… was the Demon Queen? He had been expecting something horrifying, an unforgiving creature that would surely kill him in seconds. Instead, he found himself looking into the green eyes he loved so much.

"Mi… Mion!" he yelled, scrambling to seat up when he realized he was still lamely smashed against the cold, stone floor.

Inside, Mion felt nothing but confusion and shock. He couldn't be dead, could he? And besides, if he was dead, he shouldn't have ended up trapped in the sword! She had so many questions in her head that she just couldn't answer. "How!" she cried out, staring at him with her shocked eyes. "How in the world did you end up here? Why are you here?" she demanded.

Keiichi instantly grinned, an expression that was a complete contrast to the shocked and confused one he wore before. "Listen, Mion, I've come to save you! I've come to bring you back to Hinamizawa!" he cried out.

Mion's eyes widened. "What? How would you do that?" she gasped, her tone completely showing off all her emotions.

"Rika brought the sword to me, and Hanyuu lent me her power to let me go inside her and find you. She also is going to use her power to pull you out of the sword and convert you back to a psychical form so you can return to being with us, so you can return to living a normal life! Isn't it amazing? Everything will be like normal again! You'll be revived, Mion!" he cried out, a large, white grin on his face as he excitedly explained everything to the demon girl in front of him.

Mion looked a little confused. "Wait a moment, did you say Hanyuu lent you power?" she asked. "That doesn't make any sense at all! Hanyuu's…!"

"Look, Mion!" cried Keiichi, his expression not changing. "I'll explain everything to you when we're out of here, I promise! So for now, just take my hand and let's get the heck out of here!" he spoke, sticking out his hand for Mion to take.

Mion's eyes began to water. She could really return to her life, even after that? She could really see her friends again? She could really escape from being queen of this stupid sword? She nodded as she stood up excitedly, taking his warm hand in hers instantly. Her tearing green eyes met his blue ones, causing her to blush. Yes, he loved her too. When they got back, they could surely become lovers and enjoy their lives together, just as she wanted.

"All right then, let's-"

"STOP!"

The two friends turned to the source of the voice, meeting the ideas of several very confused demons. In front of them stood a demon with blonde hair and icy blue eyes, her eyes narrowed. "And where exactly do you think you're going with our Demon Queen?" Sayuri hissed at the boy.

Mion smiled at her. "Oh, Sayuri! Don't you understand? This is Kei-chan! This is MY Kei-chan!" she told her and the rest of the stunned demons. "He's the one I love, remember? He was the one I killed those people for!" she reminded him, causing Keiichi to wince at the very memory.

Another demon walked up to the other's side, an enraged expression on her face. "You can't just LEAVE like that, Miss Green-Eyed Demon," Madoka growled. "Being queen of the demons isn't something you can abandon. You have to stay here, don't you understand?" she spoke, her tone harsh.

Mion blinked at her. "I'm sorry, Madoka, but I have to go! I know being Queen of the Demons is important and all that, but to me, my friends are much, much more important than that!" she spoke to her, causing the blonde demon to hiss in annoyance.

"But Queen Green-Eyes!" cried Manami, "what are we to do without a queen? No, who will be queen without you?"

Mion smiled sadly at her fellow demon. "You guys can figure out something, I'm sure, but I'm certainly not staying here if I have an option of being back up there in Hinamizawa!" she told all of them, causing them to gasp and look at each other, murmuring about what in the world they should do.

"Mion-sama, please don't! We need you!" yelled a demon from close by.

Mion turned to the whole crowd, dropping Keiichi's warm hand. She spread her arms out wide, indicating that she was talking to all of them. "I know you guys are upset, but you have to listen to me! I, your leader, was once back up in Hinamizawa, thinking I was human! There, I met so many people that were special to me, so many people who I cannot leave. You know, back in Hinamizawa, I am also a leader. I lead a club, a club who does nothing but sit around and play games. It may sound a little boring, but to me, it's the best thing I can ever be! So, for that reason, I'm going back! I'm sure you guys can work something out amongst yourselves, right?"

The demons looked at each other, murmuring amongst themselves. Her speech seemed to have convinced most of them, who held a high respect for their leader. All one thousand of them had fought along side her when she had murdered Etsuko, and when she had attempted to kill Rena. They were all her friends, and they all knew her well. They knew they had to respect her as a leader. But still, it all seemed a little sudden to them. Who would lead them now?

Mion smiled at them all. "Thank you for letting me be your queen," she spoke to her fellow demons.

Keiichi took her hand in his once again; smiling at the girl he loved so much. She was so brave, addressing a thousand demons like that. She was truly a natural leader. A leader like her needed to be back there in Hinamizawa, leading the club. And he knew, she was the only one fit for that role. Now, he knew, it was time for her to return to them. They both faced each other, looking into the other's eyes.

"Hanyuu!" he cried out as loud as he could, "we're ready!"

And then, suddenly, spots of white light began to twirl around them, circling both of their bodies as they held onto each other's hands tightly. They did nothing but stare into their eyes as they felt their bodies being enveloped in a bright light, a bright light that would transport them out of the sword and back to Hinamizawa, where the others were waiting for them.

Mion felt so happy, going back to her friends. They had waited long enough for her return. She had to see them again; she had to be their leader. Surely they were all so upset with her leave, unable to participate in games without their club leader. After all, what was a group without a strong leader? She felt the spiraling light grow closer and faster, hugging them tightly.

And then, suddenly, it stopped.

All the light faded away, leaving both Mion and Keiichi standing there, in the same place as they were before, still stuck in the sword. They both exchanged confused glances as they glanced about, finding no change in where they were. They were certainly still within that endless void of white, and not in the cheerful, bright Hinamizawa.

_'Keiichi!'_ a voice from within Keiichi's head rang out.

_'H…Hanyuu?'_ he thought, confused.

_'Keiichi, it's no good!' _The goddess's panicked voice was coming clearly to his mind. _'I don't have enough power to take you both back AND return Mion to normal! You too are both a little too much to carry without using all my power! If I take you back, then Mion will forever just be a spirit wandering about Hinamizawa, never to be seen by anyone aside from Rika again!'_

_ 'No!'_ thought Keiichi, _'there's no way! Then that means Mion's gonna be stuck as a spirit forever-!'_

Mion titled her head to the side, reading his very worried look. "Kei-chan, what's wrong? !" she cried out. "Tell me what's wrong!"

Keiichi looked at her, his teeth clenched. "Mion! Hanyuu just told me through telepathy that she can't take us both back and turn you back to normal! We're too much to pull out without using up all of her power! She says that if we both come out of here, then that means you'll just forever be a lonely spirit wandering around Hinamizawa!"

Mion's eyes widened. "So then, if I return, I won't be able to talk to the club… ever again?" she spoke, her tone shaken with horror.

Slowly, Keiichi nodded. Mion looked terrified as she took a few steps back, her dreams of returning to Hinamizawa crashing. She couldn't be with her friends ever again, ever again! She was going to be stuck as spirit, just watching as they grew up! She hated that idea. Was there really no way of transporting them both without using up too much power?

No, surely there was a way. Mion had to think, and she had to think fast. There had to be a way to reduce the amount of power that it took for her to carry them both out. Keiichi had said that they were too much for her to carry. Was there some way to make it so that they weren't too much to carry? She scratched her head, frustrated.

Keiichi was also trying to come up with some idea, but his mind was completely blank. Would he just have to settle as having Mion as a spirit, then? Hanyuu said that Rika would be able to see and communicate with her, so that meant that it was possible to use Rika as a bridge to talk with her. Then again, that would be kind of weird if they were saying something romantic. And besides, they wouldn't be able to hug or kiss, and Keiichi wouldn't be able to see her face! A relationship like that would never work out! But then again, if had to settle for that, so be it! He was fine, as long as he could talk to Mion in some way. No, maybe that wasn't a good idea. Maybe he should just…

"I got it!" cried Mion, breaking off Keiichi's chain of thoughts. He looked at her, eager to know exactly what she had in mind.

"What is it?" he demanded, his voice full with the need to know. "Please tell me, Mion!"

Mion grinned at him. In panic, she had forgotten about the one she had done in the past, the one thing she had done when she was a small child. "Now, Kei-chan, just watch. I really can't explain it to you, but it should certainly work," she spoke, giving him a reassuring smile. Keiichi nodded. Whatever it was, he would believe her.

Gently, she closed her eyes and began to focus on her mind, on the inside of her. She forgot about the demons around her, she forgot about the boy in front of her. She thought back to the time where she had transformed partially, and to the time where she had transformed into her true form. Then, she thought way back about when she had killed her best friends all the way back. She continued on her memories, feeling the grief her past self had when she had realized she had killed her best friends, and how wrong it was. Then, she thought about what she had done afterwards, what she had did to soothe herself. '_I don't want to be a demon,' _she thought as she recalled those painful memories, memories that should have remained forgotten. _'Let me be normal, let me be normal!_' Her thoughts echoed throughout her whole mind, her eyes still shut tightly. She focused hard on the task at hand. And then, slowly, she felt her soul begin to separate into two, creating two halves of herself. The other half faded in front of her, her eyes also tightly shut.

Feeling that she was done, Mion opened her eyes, looking at the figure that had appeared before her. The demon standing before her blinked in confusion, looking at the girl in front of her with confused, green eyes.

"It's been a while, my old friend," Mion greeted, smiling at the new figure.

The Green-Eyed Demon looked at her, confused. "Why, tell me why have you separated us again?" she spoke.

Mion walked up to her, placing a hand on her demon self. "It's simple," she spoke, "Hanyuu says that she doesn't have enough power to carry me and Keiichi, so I thought, why not discard the side of me that I no longer need, now that I don't believe in those lies you've been feeding me, oh Green-Eyed Demon?"

The Green-Eyed Demon narrowed her eyes. "Excuse me, but you are indeed a demon. I thought we have accepted that fact?" she spoke.

Mion nodded. "Indeed, I am a demon. Or rather, you, being the demon part of my soul, are a demon. I was also referring to the fact about Rena being out for Keiichi and all that crap," she said, gazing into the identical eyes of her demon side.

Meanwhile, Keiichi was watching the scene with a very confused look on his face. There were suddenly two Mions in front of him! And what was this about her demon side, and the Green-Eyed Demon stuff? "Hey, wait a moment, Mion! Can you at least TRY to explain to me what this whole thing is about?" he asked of her, staring at the two identical Mions in front of him.

Mion smiled at him. "Kei-chan, meet the Green-Eyed Demon, otherwise known as Sonozaki Mion. She's my other side, my demon side. When I was little, after I killed these kids, I banished her from my soul, hoping to never see her again. However, she appeared to me recently, and I accepted her back into my soul, making me a demon once more," she explained to him. "You see, what I've done here is I've split my soul in half. Right now, I'm just the human side of Sonozaki Mion, the one who you became friends with."

Keiichi looked somewhat confused, trying to take in the information as best as he could. "So, basically, you've just removed the demon side of you from your soul, and now you are basically a human again?" he said, his head tilted to the side.

Mion nodded. "That's correct! And you see, since my spirit is now half of what it was before, Hanyuu should be able to carry us back!" she spoke, throwing up her hands in the air.

The Green-Eyed Demon looked alarmed. "Wait a moment, you're leaving me here?" she cried out, panicked.

Mion nodded, smiling. "Yup! You, Green-Eyed Demon, will stay here, as the queen of the demons, while I, the human side of myself, will go back to Keiichi and the others. That way, both the demons are happy, I'm happy, and it works out perfectly," she explained to her other half. It was a flawless plan, indeed. The demons would not be without a queen, and the club would not be without Mion.

Keiichi was a little hesitant. Would something like that really work? He had to wonder if Hanyuu had enough power to even transport half of her soul. He was a little worried that she didn't, and that he had to settle for talking with a spirit Mion indirectly instead.

_ 'Ah, no need to worry about that, Keiichi!' _came Hanyuu's voice from within his head. _'I have enough to transport you now, and enough to revive her back into a psychical form!'_

_'R-Really!'_

_ 'Yes, really! Now just grab onto Mion and everything will be okay!'_ Hanyuu told him, her voice excited.

Keiichi nodded, quickly walking up to the girl in front of him. He slowly slid his hands into hers, blushing a little at the warmth. He gave her a warm smile as he stared into those green eyes of hers, those eyes he fell in love with, and nodded, silently telling her it was time for them to go now. Mion nodded back, understanding perfectly.

She broke their gaze for just a bit to look back over at all her demons, who were all staring at her in surprise. "Listen, guys! This part of my soul will watch over all of you as queen, so now, you don't have to decide on a new ruler! I'm going back with Keiichi to Hinamizawa, so I will be able to be with my friends again!" she cried out to all of them. "Do you understand?"

"YES, MISS GREEN-EYED DEMON!" cried all of the demons in unison.

Mion smiled, moving her gaze over to the Green-Eyed Demon. "Listen, friend, just stay here and watch over the demons, all right? I know it seems a little wrong for us to be separated, but it's the only way. Besides, we've gone like this for years. I wish you good look watching over them," she told the demon side of her.

The Green-Eyed Demon gave her a genuine smile, the first Mion had ever seen from her demon smile that contained no malicious intent. "Yes, self!" she spoke, standing up straight and bold.

Mion nodded, looking at the demon side of herself for one last time. She had gotten so used to being a demon within the last days that it felt kind of strange just to be leaving it behind like this. She smiled at her demon side, knowing that it was the last time she'd ever see herself as a monster. The Green-Eyed Demon looked back at her, understanding how she felt.

Then, Mion's gaze shifted to her best friend, her comrade, and the boy she loved. She gazed into those blue eyes of his, and nodded at him, telling him that she was ready to leave the demons behind. Now, they were to return to Hinamizawa, for real this time. And when they returned, they would be able to go back to the club as lovers, to continue on with their lives with joy. They both gripped each other tightly, intertwining their fingers together.

They were ready now.

And then, once again, sparkles of light began to float around the two of them, swirling around and encasing them. The light began to grow strong as the speckles of light attached to the bodies of the two teenagers, clinging to them. Soon, more speckles attached, and still more yet. Their whole lower-halves became enveloped in white light as they continued to stare into each other's eyes, not even bothering to look down to see the progress. Their grip on each other tightened as the warmth between them increased, causing them both to blush a little. The light was growing faster and faster, now reaching up to their faces. They looked at each other and smiled one last time before the light reached their eyes, instantly blocking their view of each other.

And then, everything went black.

~~~~X~~~~

Keiichi felt his eyes flutter open. He looked around, finding that he was exactly where he was before. He was at the Saiguden, in front of the door, and standing before the cursed Katana. Upon looking up at the sky, he realized that it was now night, though his senses told him it was only around dinnertime. Grumbling, he rubbed the back of his head, turning around to see what exactly what was behind him.

"Keiichi!" cried Rika's voice. She instantly leapt to her two feet and ran up to him, an excited look on her face. She stared down at the boy, who was lying on the floor, with her two, happy, purple eyes. A large smile spread across her face from ear to ear, one filled with so much joy Keiichi thought he'd only see in Rika when she was faking it. But now, as he looked at her, Keiichi knew that Rika was genuinely happy.

Then, before he could say anything in response, Rika focused her vision on the air beside him. Her smile only got bigger, if that was even possible. She ran over to the spot where she had been looking at before, staring at the space in front of her. "Hello Mion! It's good to see you again. Ah, you're still in spirit form, I see! Oh, don't worry! It's no problem! Hanyuu will be able to fix that in five seconds," she said, glancing behind her. She began to gesticulate rapidly to the air behind her, telling the invisible girl to begin the process of turning Mion back to normal.

Keiichi stood up before he noticed a swirling of light occurring in the spot before him, just like how it had been when they were transported out of the sword. There were speckles circling the area, beginning to cling onto an invisible form to the side of him. Slowly, those spots of light began to build the form of a human female; a human female he instantly knew was the girl he loved. Eventually, the light created a figure engulfed in light, their face unable to been seen underneath the intense brightness.

And then, it all faded away.

Now, standing next to him, was Sonozaki Mion, still clad in that blood, white kimono of hers. She rubbed her closed eyes before she opened then slowly, revealing two, familiar, unchanged green eyes. She blinked a few times before she observed her surroundings, finding that there was no longer just endless white around her. There were trees, there was grass, there were buildings, and there were _people._ And not just any people, they were her friends.

"Mion!" cried Keiichi.

At the sound of her name, Mion instantly turned his vision over to the boy in front of her, who was standing there with a huge grin on his face. As soon as she spotted those blue eyes of his, her eyes began to tear up. A few drops rolled down her cheeks as she whispered his name gently, her voice almost unable to be heard. Then, she said it again, louder this time. "Kei-chan… Kei-chan," she repeated over and over again. "KEIICHI!" she screamed out, speaking his full name for the first time.

Before he could process everything, he felt Mion's body collide with his, her warm arms winding around his back and pulling him into a tight hug as she cried tears of joy. She had believed that she would never see this boy again. Keiichi smiled warmly as he hugged her back, loving the feel of her warm body against his. He sniffled a little, tears of joy running down his cheeks as he held her tight, stroking her long locks of green hair with his fingers.

"Mion," he whispered. "You're… you're back."

They pulled apart slightly, just so that they could look into each other's tearing eyes. Slowly, she nodded. "Yes, Kei-chan, I'm home," she whispered back.

And then, just for a little bit, they looked into the other's eyes, reading each other's emotions and feelings. They could both see joy in the other's eyes, joy that the other had return to them. But that was not nearly the strongest emotion they could read. Both of them saw intense amounts of love and affection for the other within their eyes. They smiled at each other, tears still running down their face a little. There was no mistaking it now. They were certainly both in love with each other. Slowly, Keiichi brought his face close to Mion's, gently brushing her lips with his own. They held each other even closer as they felt this contact between them, shivering at how wonderful the feeling was. And then, Keiichi tenderly pressed his lips against Mion's, kissing her. It was a kiss full of feelings, full of emotions. It was a kiss that should have happened a long time ago.

Keiichi felt warmth run through his whole body as he held his lips against hers. It wasn't too passionate, nor was it too gentle. The kiss was enough for him to sense just how much she loved him, just enough for him to sense how much she had longed for him.

Mion felt the same emotions run through her, now knowing what it was like to be loved back. All this time, she had been thinking that her feelings for him were not returned, leading up to a bloodstained tragedy. But now, everything was fixed. They were together now, happy.

Slowly, they pulled apart from each other, gazing into the other's eyes. There were still a few tears on each of their faces, tears that had been shed from the sheer happiness of seeing each other again. They still held each other close, the heat of their bodies still able to be felt.

"I love you, Sonozaki Mion," whispered Keiichi softly.

"I love you, Maebara Keiichi," Mion responded.

Then, once again, they leaned in to kiss each other, this time with more passion than before. Mion winded her arms up his back as she pressed her body as close as she could to his, blushing at the warmth exchanged between them. Mion opened her mouth ever so slightly, allowing Keiichi to slip his tongue in to touch and stroke her own. They could both feel the love they shared for each other, the passion, the _need_ for each other.

Rika watched this whole scene with a smile on her face. Finally, the two of them had recognized their love for each other. She felt it was rather rude of her to watch them kiss, but she just couldn't help but feel happy the more she watched them. She let out a sigh of happiness as she lay back, deciding to respect their privacy and look away.

Finally, the two of them pulled apart from each other after what seemed like an eternity. They were breathing heavily as they looked at each other, smiling. They did not have to exchange any words. There was simply nothing that had to be said between them. They had already spoken those words they had been dying to speak, and they had already done what they had been dying to do for such a long time.

Unfortunately, tragedy had to break the atmosphere. Hanyuu let out a cry of pain as she fell to the ground, unable to stand up. Rika gasped as she whipped around, staring at the goddess only she could see. Hanyuu looked at her, giving her a look that told her all she needed to know. Reviving Mion had been just too much for the poor goddess. And now, she was going to die. "HANYUU!" she screamed out, causing both Mion and Keiichi to turn to look at her, alarmed.

"Rika, it's time," Hanyuu told her gently, her voice slightly shaken. "This is the end of Oyashiro-sama."

Rika shook her head, feeling tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "It can't be, Hanyuu, it can't be! Don't you have SOME power left? Can't you maintain your spirit form using just a tiny bit of power?" she cried out, allowing a few tears to drip out of her eyes and on to the ground. "Please tell me that there's some way you can stay!"

Hanyuu smiled sadly at her. "I'm sorry, Rika, but I can't. Remember what I said before, about you being too dependent on me? Well, it's true. I… I did this because I wanted Mion and Keiichi to be happy, and I knew that if I stuck around you forever, you wouldn't be able to rely on yourself. You'd be relying on me for everything," she spoke.

"It's not true!" screeched Rika. She couldn't stand the idea of losing the one person who had been with her since birth, the person who had been with her for over a thousand years, sharing her pain and sorrow. "I would be fine with you by my side! I would be just fine!" she protested.

"Unfortunately, that's not the issue here," Hanyuu spoke. "The fact is, I'm dying, and I can't be saved. I've used up all my power. That's the end of this story," she spoke, placing a fading hand on Rika's face, one that was unable to be felt by her. Tears trickling down her cheek went straight through that hand, straight to the ground beneath her. Rika could slowly see Hanyuu's body becoming more and more faded as the seconds passed, slowly fading away into nothing.

"Hanyuu, I won't forget the pain we've shared," sniffled Rika. "And… and I won't forget the happy times we've shared. I'll do as you say and move on, and I'll become a Furude Rika that is independent! I promise you that!" she spoke, desperately trying to reach out and touch the goddess. However, all attempts were in vain. Hanyuu was a spirit. She couldn't feel her.

Hanyuu nodded, tears in her eyes. "Promise me that… for me," she spoke. Her body was fading, almost transparent enough for Rika to be unable to tell that there was someone even there.

"Promise!" cried Rika.

"Thank you, Rika," whispered Hanyuu, her voice fading along with her body. "Thank you for giving me someone to talk to, someone to spend time with… and I'm sorry…" she spoke again, her voice barely able to be heard at all.

Then, her body faded, becoming nothing. Rika's eyes widened as she looked at the spot, now barren of life. She glanced around her; wondering Hanyuu was just playing a joke on her and if she was really just standing somewhere near her. But no, it was true. No matter where she looked around her, Hanyuu wasn't there. She was indeed gone. Oyashiro-sama was gone, forever.

"Rika?" came a male voice from the Saiguden. "…Let me guess, Hanyuu just…"

Rika turned to her two friends and nodded. "Correct. She's gone."

Mion tilted her head. "Hanyuu?"

Rika nodded. "Hanyuu… she's been with me since birth, just like you and Shii, Mii. You see, she's… she's Oyashiro-sama. I-It's hard to believe, I know, but she's been following me around as a spirit for a very, very long time. And you see, because of her using up all that power to revive you, she… she died," she explained to her, wiping away a few tears.

Mion frowned, knowing that one person had to go because of her life. She couldn't help but feel a little bad for her. "Rika-chan…" she whispered, walking up to the girl and pulling her into a tight hug. "I… I'm sorry."

Rika buried her head into Mion's stomach, feeling intense amount of pain. She had just gone through the loss of a friend, and now she had to go through it again. It was simple. Fate was cruel and didn't want her to have all her friends by her side, so they took away the one that was the closest to her. She sobbed widely as Mion pulled her closer, feeling guilt for everything Hanyuu did to save her. "She wanted to save you, Mion, so don't be upset. She… she did it for you."

Mion nodded slowly, listening to her words. She couldn't help but feel bad, but she would try to accept what Hanyuu did for her and why. She held Rika close, understanding her emotions completely. Rika had just lost the one she had been with since her birth, the one who had shared so many feelings and times with her. She allowed her to cry onto her stomach, feeling it was the least she could do.

Eventually, Rika managed to stop crying, though she was still sniffling quite a bit. "All right, you two. Now that you're back, Mion, I think you should head over to the Sonozaki Manor and talk to your family. They're pretty worried about you," she spoke, wiping away a tear that fell from her cheek. "A-And Keiichi should go with her. I… I will go back to my house and get Satoko and Ryota to come and see you. R-Rena too," she spoke.

Mion looked at Keiichi and nodded. "All right, sounds good. Are you sure you're going to be all right alone, though?" Keiichi asked her.

_Alone. _The word struck her hard. Indeed, she would be alone for real this time. There would be no Hanyuu following her through the thick trees, easily avoiding the low branches with her transparent body. Slowly, she nodded, although she didn't know for sure that she'd really be okay without her.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," she murmured, wiping away yet another tear.

~~~~X~~~~

Mion and Keiichi walked down the dusty path of Hinamizawa, talking to each other about nothing. They simply enjoyed the presence of each other, as they had gone quite a while believing that they would never see each other again. They giggled at the jokes they made, and they talked about how life had been in Hinamizawa for Keiichi since he had moved there.

"I much prefer this place to the nasty old city," spoke Keiichi as he walked down the path, slowly approaching the giant Sonozaki Manor. "It's refreshing."

Mion grinned. "I'm glad you like this place so much, Keiichi. You've really seemed to blend in with the village in a year. I'm surprised. Village elders don't take too well to outsiders, particularly Batcha," she said. The two of them were side by side, holding each other's hand. Because of this, a light blush was on each of their features. It seemed so romantic to hold hands now that they had confessed and kissed.

Keiichi nodded. "I no longer feel out place, just so you know," he spoke, thinking back to the time he had broken down and confessed to Mion that he didn't feel as if he was truly a part of the village. "I feel like I belong here truly now. You know, since I have such amazing friends, and the best leader I could ever ask for," he spoke, blushing a little at saying something so bold.

Mion blushed as well, averting her eyes away from the boy so that he didn't see. "And I'm glad you came here, too, because if you didn't, I don't know what I'd do. You're a great friend, and an amazing rival, you have no idea how much you mean to me," she spoke.

Keiichi blushed, embarrassed at her words. "T-Thank you, Mion," he whispered.

The two of them held each other's hand a little tighter as they walked forward, the Sonozaki Manor only a few steps away.

Finally, they reached the door, walking up to it. They both gulped as Keiichi took a step forward, placing his balled fist up against the door but not knocking on it. They were probably having dinner now, considering the time it was. He looked back over to Mion who was standing behind him, and nodded. He took a single step closer before he banged his fist on the door, taking a few steps back. He wondered if they would be a little annoyed with him for interrupting, especially considering how angry Sonozaki Oryou could get at times. But surely that would all go away when he handed Mion over to them, right?

Suddenly, the door opened, revealing a rather irritated looking Oryou. She narrowed her eyes as she spotted Keiichi, not seeing Mion as Keiichi was blocking her. Her expression changed, showing great annoyance and a little anger. Keiichi gulped, nervous about being around the great head of the Sonozaki family. "What do you want, Maebara boy?" she asked him coldly. "We are in the middle of a family dinner."

Keiichi tried his best to smile at her. "I'm sorry for interrupting, Sonozaki-sama," he said to her. "But… I brought something you might want."

He stepped aside slowly, revealing Mion who stood there with a smile on her face. She dipped her head respectfully as she saw her. "Hello, Batcha. I-It's me. I'm back. I… I'm sorry for disappearing like that, okay? But it's not going to happen again," she apologized, not wanting to face the wrath of her grandmother.

Oryou looked shocked, to say the least. She stood there for a few seconds, as if glued to the ground. She could think of nothing to say. She was debating over whether she should scold Mion for disappearing like that and making her so worried, or if she should let her true emotions show and express how glad she was that her granddaughter was alive.

"Where… where have you been, child?" she questioned, her voice not as harsh as it usually was. "And tell me, why have you gotten your kimono so damn bloody" she asked, staring down at the many blood splatters decorating her kimono.

"I'm sorry, Batcha," whispered Mion as she dipped her head again respectfully. "I… I kind of wandered in the woods and got hurt. But I'm back now, and I'm perfectly fine," she lied.

Oryou was trying to hold back tears of joy, relieved that her eldest granddaughter who she thought was dead was in fact, alive. She had been so worried that the curse of Oyashiro-sama had claimed her along with the others. She placed her hand on the doorway, trying to prevent herself from running to embrace her granddaughter. No, she couldn't let that side of her show at a time like this. That Maebara boy was there, after all!

"Mother?" a woman's voice called out from the inside. "You've been out there an awfully long time. Is there something-" the woman froze as soon as she got to the door, instantly spotting the sight of Mion standing there with a grin on her face.

"Hi, Mom," Mion said. "I'm sorry I disappeared, you see-"

She didn't get a chance to finish her sentence. Before she knew it, Sonozaki Akane, her mother, had already pulled her into a tight hug, small tears running down her face. "Oh, my darling girl. You're alive!" she cried out. "We thought you were dead! We had the whole village looking for you and everything! Shion wouldn't stop crying the whole time," she spoke.

Mion smiled. "I'm sorry mom. I'm home now," she whispered.

Keiichi stood there awkwardly, averting his eyes away from the family. He felt embarrassed watching such a touching reunion between a family he didn't belong to. It was strange, seeing the great Sonozaki family sharing such a tender moment. He had always heard terrible things about them, and how they cared for no one. The scene in front of him contradicted such rumors completely.

"Hey, what's going on?" called Shion's voice as she ran up to the door, wondering why both her mother and her grandmother were taking such a long time at the door. She looked to the side and instantly spotted Keiichi, wondering what in the world he was doing there. Looking over to her mother, she could just make out the figure of her identical twin sister standing before her, who was supposed to be dead.

"MION!" cried Shion as she ran out the door in a matter of seconds, practically tackling her twin sister to the ground as she collided with her. She wrapped her hands around her sister, pulling her into a tight embrace. A few tears fell down her face as she hugged her even tighter, feeling the warmth of the girl she thought was dead.

Mion smiled. "Shion," she whispered as she hugged her back. They held each other tightly for what seemed like an eternity as Shion cried softly, tears forming in Mion's eyes. She had missed her sister, even if they had only been away from each other for a few days.

Finally, they pulled apart. Mion leaned closer to Shion, positioning her mouth over Shion's ear. "I'll explain everything when the others get here. Rika's going to get them," she whispered.

Shion nodded. "All right, sis…" she whispered.

Keiichi was still looking away from the scene with embarrassment in his eyes. He wasn't quite sure what he was to do now. Was he just to stay here and wait for the others to arrive? He gave one glance over to the family, finding that the touching hugging and such had finished.

"Maebara Keiichi," Akane spoke as she turned to meet the face of the boy who had mysteriously appeared along side her daughter. "Were you the one who found my daughter?" she asked.

Keiichi wasn't too sure what to say. Technically, he did save her, but considering what Mion had said to her family… he wasn't sure. "Uh, I just kind of found her in the woods and I brought her over here for you guys. I… I didn't do too much, I guess," he murmured, looking down.

Akane smiled at him. "Well, whatever it may be, thank you for returning Mion to us. We were convinced that she had been killed," she spoke. "I'm glad that this is not the case, and that she is alive and well," she said as she glanced over to her eldest daughter, tears still in her eyes.

Keiichi scratched his head. Technically, she had died, but there was no way in hell he would explain to her family about that. They would surely freak out, and besides, he didn't want to go telling them that their heiress was in fact, a demon. "You're welcome," was all he could say.

"Mom, Batcha, my friends are going to come over here. Is… is that okay?" she asked the two of them.

Akane turned to Oryou, giving her a nod. "I have no problems with it, Mion. Do… do any of your friends know that you're alive aside from Keiichi-kun?" she asked her, turning to look at the brown-haired boy beside her.

Mion nodded. "Just Rika, but she's gone off to get the other kids while Keiichi went to go take me back. She should be here in just a little bit. And when they come, can we have some time… just to ourselves?" she asked her mother.

Oryou looked a little hesitant, but she simply nodded her head. "Sure, go ahead," she murmured.

Mion grinned. "All right. Let's go inside, then, Keiichi," she spoke, grabbing his hand and smiling at him. Keiichi nodded, blushing a little. She led him into her house, tugging on his hand gently. Shion instantly noticed the intimate connection between the two and smiled just a bit, wondering to herself if the two of them had finally confessed to each other. She watched as the two of them walked in, intertwining their fingers together as they spoke.

Mion instantly dragged them both down the hall to room that belonged to both Shion and herself, seating them both down on the two futons that covered the room. They had quite a bit to talk about.

"So, tell me, what exactly happened?" Shion asked her.

"Well-" Keiichi began to explain, before being cut.

"Oh, Mion, Shion, Keiichi-kun! Your friends!" came Akane's voice from downstairs.

All three of them stood up from the futons, running out into the hall, gazing at the door from a distance. Satoko, Ryota, and Rena all walked in, wondering exactly why Rika had told them to come. Rika was in the front, having not told them about the current state Mion is the surprise them. Rika smiled as she pointed down the hall to the three friends.

All of them gasped when they realized that there wasn't just one green-haired girl standing there, but there were two. Satoko was the first to react. She ran down the hallway in a rush, clinging to Mion's form when she got close. She began to cry tears of happiness into her stomach, crying out the name of her club leader as she did. Rena followed, running up to give her a hug from her back since Satoko currently occupied her front.

"Mi-chan, you're alive!" cried Rena. "You're alive, you're alive! I can't believe it, I can't believe it!"

Ryota stood there, a smile on his face. He walked up to her, glad to see the true Mion there and not the demon Mion who she had become. Perhaps he'd finally get to know her true self. "Hey, Mion-chan," he greeted her, grinning. "It's nice to see you back. Everyone… everyone was so upset without you."

"Hey, Hisao… or should I call you Ryota?" spoke Mion as she stroked the yellow locks of hair belonging to the girl still clinging to her front. "Well, this old man sure hopes you felt upset without her. I would feel a little upset myself if you weren't," she spoke, winking at him. "I'm glad that we'll finally get to know each other for real this time, and put the past behind us."

Ryota nodded. "Yeah, though I must wonder, how exactly did you get back?"

"Yeah, Mi-chan, would you mind telling us?" Rena asked, wiping away a few tears.

"Well, actually, I was just explaining things to Shion and Keiichi when you guys came. How about if we go back to my room and me and Keiichi will tell you everything?" she suggested, gesturing to the room on her side.

Satoko pulled away from Mion's stomach, her eyes still a little puffy from crying so much. She nodded slowly as she walked into Mion's room, realizing that she wasn't been at all harassed by any of the Sonozakis, Mion and Shion aside. Instead, they greeted her kindly. All that hate was now gone, and it was all thanks to the club members. Mion had been the one who had told Oryou to think things over, hadn't she? Yes, if it weren't for Mion, she would surely still be ostracized.

All of them sat down on the futons on Mion's room, all eager to hear what exactly her story was. Why was the girl they had killed still alive? She had clearly died, and they had most certainly buried her underneath the dirt. Mion grinned as she looked around them, clearing her throat. "Well, it's a little hard for me to explain the whole thing, so I'll let Keiichi explain things at first…" she spoke.

Everyone took note of the fact that she was calling him by his full name now, and not Kei-chan. However, none of them said anything.

"Okay," Keiichi spoke, gazing at all of the curious club members. "Well, you see, it's kind of hard to explain here. Do you guys remember that katana Mion had? Well, it's a katana said to contain the spirits of over a thousand demons. It traps the souls of everyone who has used it inside and everyone who has been killed by it inside. You see, since Mion used it, when she died, her spirit got caught in that katana."

Rena titled her head to the side. "Isn't that like the sword Rika-chan was telling us about before, the one from the Sonozaki Ayame tale?" she recalled.

Rika nodded. "It's the same sword."

"Well, anyways. Rika-chan told me that it was possible to go in the sword and pull her out of there and then convert her spirit back into a psychical form. So, I was sent within the sword. There was nothing but white in there, aside from the demons. They took me to their demon queen, who I was a little scared to meet," he said, looking around at all of them. Every single one of them was giving him their full attention, none of them distracted in the slightest. "And… it turned out the demon queen was one other than Mion."

All of them gasped, covering their mouths, including Rika who had not been informed of this piece of information. "It's a long story," Mion sighed. "Since I was the last time alive and all that, they made me their queen."

"In any case, there, I was to take her back out. When we started, however, we discovered that it just wasn't working. It turns out Mion and I were just too much to carry back. So, Mion did something amazing! She split her soul in half, so that the demon side of her was separate from her human side," he spoke, throwing his arms up in the air to emphasis his point. "So then, we were able to pull her back and turn her back to normal! And now, here she is!"

Mion winked at them. "We left my demon side back in the sword, so you don't have to worry about me turning back into a cat thing," she said, half jokingly.

Keiichi laughed. "Oh yeah, so we don't have to worry about that happening again, ever! So no more demons!" he spoke.

Mion laughed along with him. "Keiichi's right! We won't ever have to worry about any demons. And besides, there's no one here to mess anything up, anymore! We can live happily now. Isn't that right, Keiichi?" she spoke, turning to look at the boy.

Finally, Shion couldn't hold back her curiosity. She just had to know why, why Mion was addressing Keiichi like that. "Mion, are you and Keiichi…?" she began to speak, finding it a little embarrassing to finish her sentence. "…Um… Boyfriend and girlfriend?" she finally finished. "You know, since you died confessing and you're addressing him by his full name…"

Mion blushed, looking away. "H-He's not my boyfriend! It's not like that, I swear!" she spoke, trying to deny her obvious feelings even though she knew that there wasn't really much point to it. "We're just friends!"

Much to her surprise, however, Keiichi simply began to laugh. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close to him as he reached over and pecked her cheek gently, causing her to blush. "We are," Keiichi spoke, running his hand through Mion's hair gently. "You see?"

"W-Wait a moment, Keiichi! You're not supposed to-"

"I don't care, Mion," he spoke, chuckling. "We're in love, and I don't think there's a point in hiding it anymore," he said as he placed a hand on her flustered cheek fondly, rubbing it gently.

Mion looked away, embarrassed. "Y-Yeah. I guess we're dating now," she whispered.

Keiichi frowned. "Aw, you guess we are? Do you not want to date me, Mion, despite how much I love you?" he teased, playing with a strand of her green hair.

"No! I'd love to date you! I mean-!" Mion blurted out before she realized that she was surrounded by all of her friends. They all laughed at her, causing her to feel a little embarrassed. She looked away, a bright red blush on her face.

"I'm so happy for you two!" cried Rena, surprising Mion. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for you too to admit for feelings, no idea! And now, you two are finally-" she spoke, her face growing hot as a puff of smoke came out from her head. "TOGETHER! CUUUTE!" she cried out, though holding herself back so she did not ruin the moment between them. Tackling them to the ground didn't seem like the best idea.

Ryota laughed, placing a hand on Rena's shoulder. "Now, now, let's refrain from taking them home, shall we?" she spoke.

They all laughed at Rena's behavior. It had been a long while since they had seen her act like this. They had been so broken over the death over their friend to even act happy. And now that their leader was back, everything seemed to be back to normal. Of course, there were still a few changes, but those were only for the better.

Shion looked over to her sister, giving her a reassuring smile. "I'm so glad that you're going to be happy with Keiichi, now. No more killing, all right?" she spoke, elbowing her in the stomach.

Mion laughed. "Yup, no more killing!" she spoke as she snuggled closer to her lover, pressing her body against his.

Satoko blushed a little at the sight of her two, much older friends having such romantic contact with each other. She looked away a little. Love didn't make much sense to a girl her age. "Well then, are we going to continue on with our club activities as normal, now that everything's over?" she asked, looking around at all the club members.

"Of course!" Mion cried out. "We'll go on as things were before, with all our club members!"

"Yay!" cried Rena. "Now that Mion's back, we can have fun again! The club just wasn't the same without her, without her! In fact, I don't think we could ever find another leader like her. There's no one in the world that could replace her, no one!" she spoke.

Mion blushed a little, rubbing the back of her head. "I'm honored, really," she said.

"Yeah, we didn't even consider playing club games without you!" yelled Satoko. "There's no way we could do anything without our leader!"

Rika nodded. "The club would never be the same without you, Mii. You're our strong leader, the one who brought us all together," she spoke, glancing at Mion with a warm look on her face. "You see, if you didn't, then we would have never been able to save Hinamizawa from disaster. And if you didn't, we would all be living miserable lives."

"If it weren't for Mion-san, I would still be bullied by the village, and I would have never had those wounds created by my uncle and aunt healed!" cried Satoko.

"Mi-chan's club fixed me after my parent's divorce," said Rena as she glanced over to her club leader and best friend. "You see, I thought I would never get over that, and that I would always let the pain from my past show. But Mi-chan stopped that. She's the one who healed Rena, for sure!"

Ryota nodded. "And if Mion-chan didn't create the club, I would have never gotten friends!" he added on.

Shion looked over and gazed into the identical eyes of her sister, the eyes she would hate to lose. "I don't know where I'd be without my Onee, to be honest with you. We've faced so many hard times together, and we've overcome so many obstacles together. She was the only friend I had for the longest amount of time," she said. "And that's why... that's why I'm so glad to have her back…"

Rika glanced over to the one remaining member of the club, the only member of the club who had not shared what Mion had done for him. "Keiichi, what about you? Why don't you tell us about how Mion here changed your life?" she spoke, nudging him in the stomach.

Keiichi grinned as he looked down at the girl who was leaning on him, holding him tightly in her embrace. "Well… where do I begin? First of all, she's the one who taught me how to have fun after the whole toy gun incident. Until I met her, I was just a stupid kid who cared nothing about friends, not knowing how strong bonds could get. I mean, who cared about friends when you could have good grades? That's what I thought, anyways," he spoke, giving her a loving look as he caressed a strand of her hair. "This girl, this wonderful girl changed it all. She made me into the Maebara Keiichi you see now, the determined boy I am now. She changed me, she changed me for good. But that certainly isn't all," he said, gazing into the emerald green eyes of his leader, his best friend, and the very girl who had changed his life. "She taught me how to love… and she gave me someone to love."

Mion sniffled, brushing away a single tear that was running down her cheek. "And thank you… you're the best members I could ever ask for… ever," she whispered.

"We couldn't go on without her. None of us would ever be the same without her," Keiichi spoke to the whole group. "And that's why… now that we have everyone, we can move on to a new future. A new, brighter future with no obstacles in our way. Together," he finished. Then, he stuck a flat hand out in the center of the circle, in the middle of everyone. "…You guys promise?"

"Promise!" they all cried out at once as they brought their hand down on his, then throwing them up in the air all at once.

"But first, before that," spoke Keiichi, gazing into the colorful eyes of all his friends. "We celebrate the return of our great leader, Sonozaki Mion!"

"YEAH!"

And so, the club began their great celebration, in which they spoke, they told stories, they laughed together, and they played together. Each and every one of them participated, enjoying the presence of all their club members. Not one of them was missing, not one of them wasn't here to see their great joy as they joked about, enjoying themselves more than they ever had before.

"Hey, Hanyuu," spoke Rika as she watched Mion and Shion tell a story about a funny incident that had happened to them when they were little, "aren't you glad to see everyone together again?"

And, unfortunately for her, the only response she got was silence.

"Oh, that's right," sighed Rika as she looked to the empty spot next to her. "You're not here anymore."

After speaking so much about how they were all together now as a family, she had forgotten that she had lost the friend who had been with her since birth, the friend she had shared many sorrowful times together with as well as many happy times. And yet, at the same time, she did not feel empty. She simply let out a sigh as she looked back over at the group. And as she watched as they all laughed in unison, she spoke.

"That's right. I still have my other friends. And with them, I will grow up to be stronger, even if it's without you. I promise you that, Hanyuu."

She was not alone without Hanyuu, her oldest friend. She couldn't dwell on the past and continue to be upset at her death. She had to move on, to become an independent person without her, just as she had wished for with her dying breath. Letting out a sigh, she stood up, and slowly, she walked over to join her friends, the friends she knew she would be spending the rest of her life together with, in happiness.

_Thank you for reading the tale of the Green-Eyed Demon, whoever may stumble upon this book. I want to remind you that everything in this book is true, and it's fine if you don't believe me. At least I know that it's true, and that the friendship we shared was real, along with all the pain of this story. In the end, I really did achieve what I wanted._

_A happy ending._

_~Furude Rika, 1984_

_**Fin.**_

~~~~X~~~~

**Crimso's Corner.**

**Oh. My. God.**

**It's over. It's all over. Green-Eyed Demon is over. I can't believe, it, I really can't believe it! Gosh, where in the world do I start? I have so many things I have to say to you, but I feel as if I should leave parting words for the epilogue, if I ever get a chance to finish and upload it. Camp is on the 22****nd****. It's not to far from now. I promise you, I WILL do my best to finish up this epilogue. I swear, I swear.**

**And now, I want to speak with you. If you didn't understand the ending, or the whole thing with Mion leaving behind a part of her demon side, please send me a message so I can clear that up for you. I'll try to explain it here as best as I can, though. The Green-Eyed Demon from the beginning was her demon side, the thoughts she refused to admit including the fact that she was a demon. She had thrown those away after she killed Hajime and the others, as I have already explained. Mion cut that part out again and left it behind, making it impossible for her to turn back into that cat thing. If… if that makes sense to you. In any case, let's talk about that scene in the last chapter with Etsuko. Man, when I read back to the part where she was killed off, I realized it was kind of wrong that she just ended like that. No redeeming moment, no nothing. Honestly, it felt wrong with out it. So there, you have your redeeming moment. Besides, if I didn't, we would be left wondering what happened to Etsuko since she had been killed by the sword and thus, is trapped in it. **

**I will leave all thank yous for the epilogue, but right now, I'm going to ask you all to do me a huge favor. Write up a review for me, even if you haven't before, and tell me these things:**

**Who was your favorite character? (not oc. I'm talking about how I represented the real higurashi characters)**

**Who was your least favorite OC? (in terms of design. Don't say Etsuko just because you hate her actions. I'm talking about structure, man! Who wasn't well written? Of course, you can say her if you think that.)**

**Who was your favorite OC?**

**What was your favorite part?**

**What was your least favorite part?**

**Which part should I fix? (Aside from the first part of chapter 34, which WILL be fixed after I finish the epilogue).**

**And finally, what do you think of the story as a whole? What did you like the most about it? The least? **

**It would be appreciated, thank you. As a reward, fake Sword of A Thousand Demons which does not actually have a thousand demons in it, thank gosh. Also, a plushie of any character you want. Any. And a cookie, because you all love cookies. And thank you for reading this story. I love you all. Really.**

_**AND LASTLY: I am about to put up summaries of my next fanfictions on my profile as well as a poll where you can vote on which one I am to write up first. PLEASE check it out for me. Thank you.**_

**~Your Friend, Crimso.**


	39. Epilogue

**Man, the rain has been on and off all day long. Seriously, last night… or should I say morning? At 3 am, it started to pour randomly. And then the thunder was really, really loud, and the lightning was super bright. Every time the lightning hit, it would light up the whole house. Then, it stopped. A few minutes ago it started again. And now it stopped. One of my poor cats has been hiding under the bed all day in fear. When it thunders, he gets down to the ground really low and walks really slowly. Huh, I wonder how Mion would feel in that situation? (L-Lol…)**

**Enough of that! I'm going to save the rest for the final Crimso's Corner, but I will say now, if you haven't reviewed the last chapter, please do so now. **

**~Epilogue~**

~~~~X~~~~

**Around Seventeen Years Later…**

A young woman panted as she ran about the area as quick as she could, looking behind her shoulder every once and a while. She let out a gulp as she tried to pick up her pace, knowing that she could not fall behind. If her speed were to hinder even in the slightest, surely she'd be caught. And she could not allow herself to be caught! She dashed through the trees, avoiding the low branches as well as the thick trees that were constantly getting in the way of her path.

Furude Rika, age twenty-seven, ducked as a branch came in the way of her path. She quickly looked behind her to find that _they_ were still on her trail, following her as she ran through the woods. She clicked her tongue in annoyance as she turned to look at the path ahead of her, knowing that she could not be distracted by the constant image of them following her. The fear of being caught was strong, and the determination to make it out safe was high. She couldn't allow them to catch her!

She gasped as she just barely turned away to avoid crashing into an unsuspected tree, as she wondered to herself why in the world the forests had to have so many trees. It had been the same way for years, hadn't it? No, right now was no time for her to think about such silly matters. She had to run, and run fast, otherwise…

She didn't want to think about what would happen if she were to be caught. It would be terrible if she were. Noticing that they were catching up, Rika decided to use all her strength to run even faster, though she took note of the fact that her poor legs were aching from running so much. She tried to forget about the pain in her feet as she tried to run faster, faster, finding that she couldn't possible run at a higher speed. She gulped as she realized that the speed she was at now probably had to do for now

Hopefully, _they_ weren't that fast. All she could do now was run, run fast enough and hope for the best. She knew the forests of Hinamizawa well, so it was possible that she could try to lose them. But right now, she couldn't think with them right behind her. She just had to keep running and hope that she landed in some area where she could possibly shake them off.

Rika took a breath of fresh air as she saw an opening in the trees, an opening where she could probably shake them off from her trail. She grinned as she sprinted forward, though she was finding it hard to keep going. It wouldn't be long before she wore out, before she succumbed to her pain and allowed _them_ to catch her.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, she broke through the endless trees, meeting the rays of the hot sun unblocked by the trees that had been looming over her. She smiled as she looked behind her once again; barely able to make out figures running through the exit. She had quite a distance between them, so it would surely be okay. Surely she'd make it away alive.

A huge smile was on her face as she ran, knowing that it was impossible to be caught now. She would surely live. She looked behind her once again, smirking at the figures that were desperately chasing her, as if to tell them that there was no way for them to possible get her now. She simply stared at them for a good while, not saying anything to them. She loved seeing the anger and frustration on their faces.

When she turned around, however, she gasped. Ahead of her was a giant Cliffside, curved like the letter U. She looked around, finding that the only way to escape was by turning around. However, if she did so, she would surely be left in the enemy's hands. They would get her for sure. There was no way she could live. She let out a gulp as she stopped, staring at the wide cliff in front of her. There was no more she can do.

With a sigh, she decided to accept her fate. They would surely not be kind to her, but what was there to do now? She heard their footsteps behind her, slowly approaching her with large grins on their faces. They knew that they had caught their prey, and that there was nowhere for her to run anymore. Rika stood there with her back to them, not wanting to see the glint of victory in their eyes.

This was the end for her.

She felt a hand reach out to touch her shirt, gently tugging on the fabric. She closed her eyes, accepting what fate she had. It was all over. The hand moved to tap her on the back a few times, before she felt another one violently shove her.

"GOT YOU!" cried a voice. "You're a zombie now, Furude-san!" a young girl spoke, grinning as she tugged violently on the woman's shirt.

"Alright!" she cried out, rubbing her sore back. "You guys win!"

"YAY!" all three of them cried out at once, jumping up and down in happiness. They gave each other a high-five, giggling as they did so.

Rika sighed and placed her hands on her hips as she watched the three children celebrate their victory. Now that she was a zombie, the game was over. All four participants were zombies. She smiled sadly as she remembered her childhood, wishing it was as peaceful and happy as theirs. However, now was not the time to dwell on the past. She had decided that she would move on, and that was exactly what she did.

"Miss Rika," a young boy with dark orange hair and purple eyes spoke, walking up closer to the woman. "Did you enjoy yourself?"

Rika nodded. "Well, Daichi, I wouldn't play with you if it wasn't fun, hm?" she spoke, winking at them. "Playing with you children is a whole bunch of fun," she spoke, smiling. "I'm glad that the three of you had fun."

The young boy named Daichi smiled. "I had loads of fun!" he spoke, throwing his hands up in the air to emphasis his point. "In fact, I had THIS much fun!" he spoke, moving his arms as far apart as they could go.

Rika laughed. "Zombie tag was one of my favorites when I was a kid, you see?" she spoke, sitting down on the ground. "I used to play it with your parents as well as Satoko. We had a whole bunch of fun each time," she explained to the kids.

Daichi sat down next to her, along with two girls. Both of the girls looked very similar, both of them having green hair of slightly different shades, though one of them had green eyes while the other had blue. They looked up at the blue-haired Furude curiously; all of them knowing well that she was about to tell them one of her stories.

"Well, you see, a long, long time ago, when I was just nine years old, we played Zombie Tag in the yard of our school. You see, Satoko was the zombie," she explained to them, a smile on her face as she looked at the curious children. "Your father, Akemi, tricked her into wasting a lot of her time by giving her a math problem that seemed hard, though the answer was truly easy."

The green-haired girl with blue eyes grinned proudly. "Well, that certainly sounds like something my dad would do!" she laughed.

Rika nodded. "In any case, I soon became a zombie, along with your mother, Akemi, and your mother, Akira, and then-"

"Wait a moment!" cried the green-haired girl with matching green eyes, "my mom wouldn't become a zombie that easily! It doesn't make any sense! You must be lying!"

Rika let out a large sigh. "Now, now, Akira, I'm not done with my story here. Just you wait and see what happens," she spoke, patting the green-haired girl on the head gently.

The girl named Akira tilted her head to the side, curiosity in her green eyes. She fidgeted a little and sat up straight, eager to hear what was to happen in this story.

"I'm sure I've told you multiple times that no one truly played fair in our club, yes? Well, that's exactly what happened this time, just like all the other times we played games. Now, what happened this time was that there was quite a bit more dirty tricks being used. Usually, there was only one person per game who decided to play a trick. This time, several people did," she spoke, a smile on her face as she recalled one of the few pleasant memories from her early childhood. "It was very, very confusing. But in any case, in the very end, your mother, Daichi, managed to avoid being caught by just a few seconds!"

Daichi's eyes widened. "Mom never wins!" he gasped.

Rika laughed. "Yeah, I must say, your mother wasn't too great at games, compared to the others. However, unfortunately for her, this victory was shared," she said to the children, causing them to gasp out in shock. She chuckled at their behavior. She always loved seeing their shocked reactions when she revealed a twist in her stories, even when it wasn't that big of a twist.

"Tell us, tell us!" shouted the girl with the darker green hair and blue eyes. "I want to know, I want to know sooo badly!"

Rika couldn't help but laugh again. "Akemi, you are always the most eager to hear my stories, aren't you?" she commented.

Akemi frowned. "Are you insulting me?"

The blue-haired woman giggled. "Oh, not at all. I think that wanting to hear my stories is a good thing, Akemi. I love telling stories," she spoke. "And I love seeing how happy you are to listen to my stories. It makes me feel very happy on the inside."

Rika often told the kids stories of the happy times of her childhood to the kids, and she also spent a lot of time playing with them. When Akemi, who was just a little older than Akira and quite a bit older than Daichi was born, she had vowed to make their lives better than hers. Surely, telling stories of happy times and playing with them would be a good way to make their lives a little better. Besides, whenever she told a story of a happy time, she felt warm on the inside, and felt as if she was reliving it. It reminded her that there truly were happy times in her childhood, despite how twisted it had been.

"Well, Miss Rika, please continue," spoke Daichi with a grin on his face. "I want to know what happened!"

She nodded. "Well, it turned out that the twins were just pretending to be zombies. They had tricked us all!" she finished.

Daichi gasped, while Akira and Akemi simply grinned at each other. It certainly sounded like something that would happen to them. Both Akemi and Akira broke out into a fit of laughter, practically falling over. Poor Daichi, on the other hand, looked horribly confused as to why they were laughing. He pleaded for them to answer, but they both continued to laugh like maniacs, showing no sign of answering.

Rika grinned at the three of them. Recently, she had decided that telling stories to the children was her new favorite thing to do. She couldn't help at times feel a little envious of how their childhood was better than hers, though. The three children sitting before her were the children she often told stories too, though she often did stop by the classroom to tell a story or two to the young children that went there.

The first of the children was Sonozaki Akemi, who was the proud daughter of Sonozaki Mion and Sonozaki Keiichi. She was older than the other two children, which was a fact that she took great pride in. She was like her mother in several ways, which made Rika feel nostalgic. She was by far the most interested in her stories, as she loved to hear about what her parents like when they were younger, though she was happy to listen to whatever Rika had to tell her.

The second one was Sonozaki Akira, who was Shion's daughter. She had been born only a few months after her cousin. Due to this, they became quite close, acting a little more like sisters than cousins. They were similar in personality since they had grown up in similar environments, though they had their differences, as no two people were ever exactly the same.

The third one was Ryuga Daichi, son of Ryuga Ryota and Ryuga Rena. He was two years younger than Akira and Akemi, and since the cousins had such a strong bond with each other, he often couldn't help but feel left out. Right now was one of those times, as he wondered to himself why Akira and Akemi were laughing so hard. He tended to keep quiet about those thoughts, however, and while no one else seemed to notice them, Rika knew very well that he felt excluded.

"So, did you have fun today, children?" she asked them all.

Akemi and Akira stopped laughing and nodded their heads, following Daichi a few seconds before.

"I'm glad you enjoy playing with me so much, children. Now, don't you think you should be heading home?" she asked them.

They all looked at each other and nodded. It was around lunchtime, and surely they were all looking forward to eating something. Rika stood up with the three of them, grinning as she scanned the group of children. "Alright, shall I lead the three of you home, or do you want to go to Okinomiya and get a snack over at one of the shops? I can take you to Angel Mort to get the Special Dessert Platter if that's okay with your parents," she spoke. "And when we are there… I'll tell you a very special story."

All of the children's smiles suddenly grew much, much larger. "Yes!" they all cried at once, jumping up into the air in excitement. All of them wondered what exactly she meant by a special story. All of her stories were special in some way, weren't they? Well, that's what she told them, anyways.

Rika laughed. "All right. Let's get going, shall we? I'll walk you guys to your house so you can spend a little time there while I go get some money from my house," she said.

Akemi shook her head. "No! I'm ten years old now, so I can walk through the scary woods all by myself and be okay!" she cried out, puffing out her chest with great pride. Daichi looked unsure, but as he looked to Akira, who had an equally as determined expression, he decided to keep his mouth shut. He supposed he'd go along with them, just as always.

"Okay then, children," she spoke. "I suppose that's fine with me, as long as you promise not to get lost. I guess it works better for me anyways, as I have something to do very quickly first."

Akira looked curious. "And what would that be, Miss Rika?"

"It's a secret," she simply responded.

All of them were rather curious, but they decided to leave her alone to do her work. Akira dashed into the woods, crying out about how the forest was no match for her, while Akemi decided to race her. Daichi frowned and shook his head as he ran after them, not really in the mood for running after chasing Rika through the entire woods.

Rika let out a large sigh as she looked into the distance, listening to the fading cries of the excited children. She too stepped into the forest, but turned around to take a different path. She wandered through the seemingly endless forest, wondering to herself what it would be like if her childhood was like that. She would surely be a different person now. She shook her head, deciding that she should leave those thoughts for later. She pushed her way through the trees until she reached her house, opening the door instantly.

She walked inside, instantly moving towards a desk that she had bought specially for herself. She sat down on the chair in front and sighed as she flicked on the lamp, illuminating her workspace. A bag hung down from the chair, looking like it was rather full of objects. She unzipped the bag and took a look. Inside of the bag was nothing but an endless amount of books. Rika gently picked up the book that was on top of the others and set it down on the desk. She instantly flipped the book open, scanning through the many pages until she came to a blank one. She grabbed a pen from a cup set out on the desk before positioning it over the book.

Then, she brought the pen down.

_Year, 2001. Date, August 8th. _

_ Today was pretty much a normal day. Well, so far, anyways. I played Zombie Tag with the kids and promptly lost. It was close, I tell you. I came to a dead end and got eaten for it. Oh well, there's always another time to beat them. I'm going to take them out to Angel Mort in a little, but first, I find it necessary to write a bit. I have way too much on my mind right now. First of all, I've written this about a million times, but I cannot help but wonder… what would it be like if I had a life like the kids? When I was ten years old, I was busy fighting off a crazed Mion. They have done nothing like that. I envy them. Isn't envy a terrible feeling, Sonozaki Mion? _

_ I feel it is my duty to take care of these children. After all, Hanyuu said she wanted me to grow independent as a person. Telling the kids stories makes me feel more responsible, more dependent on myself. It's just as Hanyuu wished for. It's sad, but I can't go a day without thinking about Hanyuu. I wonder… is she still alive? Perhaps I just can't see her. Perhaps her spirit is still there, unable to be seen by anyone. If so, Hanyuu, are you watching me now? Are you proud of what I've become?_

_ No, I must not think that way. I must not cling on to Hanyuu like that. She would hate me for it. I must accept the fact that her spirit is dead, and that she is no more. She wanted me to move on, so I will do so. However, I can't help but think about her every once in a while. It's only natural. I've known her since I was born. I also can't help but wonder if I've truly moved on, if I've truly done what she wanted._

_ -Furude Rika, 2001._

With a sigh, she closed the book and set the pen back down. Rika had been keeping a journal ever since the incident in 1984, where she had first started writing. She had a book for each year, and a page for each day in that year so she'd never forget what happened on each day of each year. She would never forget how she felt on that day, and what she had done on that day.

She stuffed the book containing the number _2001_ on it into her bag before she took out another one and placed it in a smaller bag. Then, she zipped it back up before she put the pen back in the cup. Now, she had to go pick up the kids and take them to Angel Mort, just as she had promised them.

~~~~X~~~~

Thirty-four year old Sonozaki Mion found herself lying on her futon without too much to do. She let out a sigh as she turned over, observing the Sonozaki Manor from her side. She now looked a lot more mature, though her appearance at the same time was still similar to how she had looked when she was seventeen. Her green hair was now a little longer, though she still kept it in her signature ponytail. She blinked a few times, fiddling with the sheets as she went over how life had been for her in the last few years.

Since she had left the Green-Eyed Demon in the sword, she had shown no signs of turning back into her true form or even coming close to transforming at all. Life had been peaceful since the incident, and there was no reason for her to go berserk at all. For once, she was genuinely happy with herself. Never had there been a more peaceful time in her life.

The door opened, causing Mion to sit up. Keiichi walked in, a smile on his face as he spotted his wife. "Hey, Mion," he greeted her, moving to sit down next to her.

Mion smiled at him, scooting herself a little closer. "Hey, Keiichi. How was your trip to Okinomiya?" she asked him.

"It was fine, for the most part," he yawned, rubbing his eyes. "I'm just a little tired now, since I was up all last night."

Mion blinked at him, gently touching his cheek as she did so. "You were, Keiichi? I didn't notice. I thought that you were already asleep," she spoke, looking into his tired blue eyes.

Keiichi shook his head. "No sleep at all. And now, I'm dead tired," he said, collapsing backwards on the soft sheets of the futon before rolling himself to his side.

Mion smiled, lying herself down next to him and staring at his shut eyes. She pulled herself closer to him, wrapping her arms around his chest. "Mm, I'm a little tired myself," she murmured, nuzzling her head into the crook of his neck. "

The man grinned and stroked his wife's back while his blue eyes remained tightly closed. He let out another yawn as he pulled Mion a little closer to his body. He could still remember the first time they had slept side by side, back when she was partially transformed into her demon form. He gulped a little when he recalled the memory, though he knew that her demon form was now long gone and there was no reason to fear the woman next to him.

Mion was also recalling the same event, though she kept trying to forget about it. She didn't want to remember those awful times now that she was enjoying a nice, peaceful life. It was just too painful to remember, even if it had been a little bit of a warm memory. The part about her having the horns and claws was just too much for her to forget.

After just thirty minutes, however, the door was violently opened, revealing the figure of the couple's daughter. She looked at her parents, worried that she had disturbed their sleep once again. She had been scolded many times after wandering into her parent's room while they were peacefully sleeping. She gulped. It shouldn't be too bad to wake them up. After all, it was the middle of the day and they shouldn't be asleep.

"Mom, Dad?" she called out to them.

There was some shifting within the futon coming from Mion, who sat herself up and looked at her daughter with drowsy eyes. "Er… Akemi? Weren't you outside with your friends?" she spoke before letting out a large yawn. "I thought I told you to go to someone else's house and have lunch or something…"

Akemi looked ashamed of herself. "Well, Miss Rika was going to take us to Angel Mort, but she said I had to ask you guys for permission."

Mion stood up, looking down at her husband who was still trying to pull himself up. "Well, that's fine with me," she spoke.

Akemi grinned. "Yay!" she cried out, throwing her hands up in the air.

"But," Mion spoke, causing Akemi's good mood to instantly fall. "I will only allow you to go, under one condition..."

The green-haired woman walked out of the door, leaving behind her husband who was still struggling to get himself up. Akemi followed her mother down the hallway with a gulp, as she knew exactly what her mother was going to get her to do. Mion stopped walking when she came to a door in the hallway that was tightly shut. She placed her hand on the sliding door, opening it.

"Do I really have to?" complained Akemi.

"It's only fair," Mion spoke, stepping into the room.

Akemi rolled her eyes and crossed her arms as she looked away from the room, not wanting to go inside of there. It was only a few seconds later when Mion came back, dragging a young boy with dark brown hair behind her. He was yelling something about how he didn't care about going and how he had planned to go play baseball in an hour or two, but Akemi tried her best to ignore him.

"Take him with you," she ordered her.

The boy looked up at Mion. "But I don't want to go to a stupid restaurant with her stupid friends! That's boring!" he complained.

Mion sighed, patting the boy on the head. "Yes you do, stop pretending that you don't want to go, Minoru. Now, Akemi, go take your brother. I'm assuming that Akira and Daichi will go with you?" she spoke, glancing over to her daughter.

Akemi nodded, giving her brother, Minoru, a hateful look. "Fine then, I'll take him. He doesn't seem to willing to go, though," she mumbled.

Her brother looked quite angry, as all he really wanted to do right now was stay in his room until it was time for him to practice playing baseball, a sport he was very fond of. Minoru often said that he didn't have any other hobbies, but Mion knew better. When he thought that no one was watching, he'd go off and play with his stuffed toys in his room, which was exactly what he had been doing when Mion entered.

"Oh, Minoru wants to go all right, don't you?" she spoke, looking down at her son.

Minoru quickly shook his head. "Why would I want to go to a dumb, girly place with her stupid friends?" he growled, glaring up at his mother with emerald green eyes.

"You really do want to go, don't you?" sighed Mion as she patted her son's brown hair.

He blushed, looking away. "Maybe," he grumbled.

Mion burst out laughing. "You see here, Akemi? Your brother really does want to go. He's just acting like he doesn't, see?" she said, patting her son on the back gently. Minoru averted his eyes, not wanting either of them to see how embarrassed he was. "Oh Minoru, you don't have to act like a man just yet. You're still a kid…"

"I am not a kid!" Minoru denied, stamping his foot on the ground. "I am a man! Don't you see? I play baseball!"

Mion laughed once again. "Oh gosh, Minoru. You're six. You're certainly not a man yet."

Minoru could find nothing to say in response, so he decided that he'd keep his mouth shut for the next few minutes.

"Alright then. I think you should go find Akira and then go pick up Daichi. Rika should be here anytime soon," she spoke. Mion scooped Minoru up in her arms and held him to her chest, causing him to yell out about how he was too old to be picked up. "My gosh, you're getting a little heavy Minoru. I'm sorry, but I know for a fact that you won't move from the spot you are in unless I carry you to Rika myself."

Akemi followed her mother down the hallway as Minoru tried to struggle out of his mother's grip to no avail. Mion placed him down on the ground when they reached the front of the house, where Akira and Rika greeted them.

"Man, what took you so long, Akemi?" Akira spoke, a grin on her face as she ran up to greet her cousin.

"Sorry, Akira, but mom made me drag along _this,_" she said, pointing to Minoru, who was currently looking up at Rika with a very confused face.

Akira grinned as she walked up to Minoru. "Aw, why do you act like that towards your little brother?" she asked, poking a startled Minoru on the shoulder. "You see? He's not that bad."  
Rika smiled down at them, finding the sight of all the children warm. She never imagined that she'd ever get to the point where her friends would have children and spend their lives together peacefully. Now, here she was, taking care of the children to prove to herself that she was indeed independent. She needed to go follow Hanyuu's wishes.

"All right then, children, shall we go?" she spoke, finding it rather strange to call them children. She had been a child for over a thousand years of her life, after all.

They all nodded, causing Rika to smile. She led them out the door, ready to take them out on another journey.

Mion watched with a smile as her daughter and son left her. They were sure to have a good time, even if Minoru was constantly denying the fact that he was still a child. She chuckled at the thought as she watched them disappear into the distance, chattering to one another. She could still remember when she was like that.

"Doesn't it remind you of the times when we were little, sis?" Shion spoke, startling Mion. She had had no idea that she was standing there.

"Sh-Shion!" she stammered, unable to wipe the shock off her face. "When did you get here, Shion?"

Shion, who still looked exactly like her twin in every way, laughed at her sister's shock, glad that her plan to surprise her had worked. "I was just watching my daughter leave with her cousins, that's all. It reminds me of when I was little, hanging around with you. Although back then, it was really just you and me, wasn't it?" she spoke, walking over to her twin.

Mion nodded. "Yeah. I remember those times very well, Shion. The memories never fade. I'm glad that we got to meet other friends, though," she spoke, placing her hand on the wall as the figures of Rika, her children, and her niece disappeared from her sight completely. "Luckily, none of them will ever turn into demons and try to kill anyone. Those times are long gone," she joked.

Shion couldn't help but giggle. "Oh, I know, I know."

The sound of footsteps could be heard from behind them. They turned around in surprise, meeting the drowsy figure of Keiichi walked down the hallway. He rubbed his eyes as he looked at the two of them, murmuring something about how he had hardly gotten any sleep.

"Oh, Keiichi, you don't need to be up!" cried Mion as she ran over to him. "I was just getting Akemi and Minoru over to Rika, that's all!"

Keiichi frowned. "Well, you could have told me that!" he cried out.

Mion laughed, slapping her husband on the back. "Sorry about that, Keiichi. Next time, this old man will tell you," she spoke.

Keiichi sighed. "Didn't we agree to stop with the old man thing?" he commented. "I mean, you said that you didn't like saying it yourself!"

The green-haired woman grinned. "Sorry about that. Shion and I here were just reflecting a little on the past and all that stuff. I guess the past just kind of got to me and I started to speak like that again," she laughed, rubbing the back of her head.

The younger one of the twins walked up to her sister and the brown-haired man, grinning. She too was reflecting on the past, remembering the good times Mion and her had shared as young children. She also thought back to the time where she had transferred into the school of Hinamizawa and became closer friends with everyone. Before then, she had only been with them every once in a while. And now…

"I'm glad we're finally happy," Shion spoke. "I don't know how things would have gone without you."

Keiichi laughed. "I know. I wonder how things would have been if I never moved here. I would have never met my friends, and I would have never met the love of my life," he said before turning to give Mion a quick peck on the cheek.

Mion smiled. "I'm glad that in the end, we finally were able to achieve our happiness."

All of them nodded in agreement. Indeed, they were now happy. There were no more villains that would try to kill them all, there were no more demons that would try to rip their happiness into pieces, and there were no more obstacles. They had finally achieved happiness for real.

~~~~X~~~~

Rika led the children down the dusty paths of Hinamizawa, listening to their happy chattering. If only she had been able to be that way when she was little, too. Well, it didn't matter now. She had happiness now, and she had long ago decided to just be happy with that. She looked about the area as she took a turn, looking out for Rena and Ryota's house. Daichi was not yet with them, and they were currently on their way to pick him up before they were to go to Angel Mort.

Finally, they arrived at the residence of the Ryuga family. Rika knocked on the door, taking a few steps back to allow it to open. In front of them was Ryuga Rena, who stood there was a giant smile on her face. "Oh, Rika-chan! And look, it's Akemi-chan, Akira-chan, and Minoru-kun! Daichi will be with you in a little bit, so hang on."

Rena disappeared from sight, only to reappear once more with her son. She smiled down at him as she gave him a little push, telling him to go on with his friends. Daichi seemed a little hesitant, wondering to himself if the cousins were going to make him feel left out again. He wandered over to Rika, standing behind her as he looked over to the three other children.

The next figure to appear at the door was Ryota, who instantly grinned when he saw Rika. "Hey, Rika-chan. Thanks for taking care of my son. He says he really enjoys the stories that you tell him."

Rika grinned, looking down at the little boy who was trying to hide himself. "It's no problem. I love knowing that they're enjoying the tales I tell them."

Rika waved a quick goodbye to the two of them before setting off down the long paths once again. It would take a little while for them to reach Okinomiya, she knew, but it would definitely be worth it. Rika smiled as she unzipped her bag a little, looking at the single book she had brought with her.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, they reached Angel Mort. They were greeted by a waitress with fiery red hair, and as usual, wearing a very skimpy outfit. Once again, the place was crowded with a bunch of perverts, but that never stopped Rika from taking the kids there. They sold extravagant and exciting desserts enough to make any small child go crazy for them. Besides, she went there when she was their age, and Satoko did as well.

They were sat down at a table for six. Akemi, Akira, and Minoru decided to sit across from Rika and Daichi, and all of them took a good look at the menu. Minoru was trying to pretend like he didn't care much about the desserts, but he was failing miserably. Rika could see the desire for that ice cream sundae with chocolate sauce and chocolate chips in his eyes. Akemi was having a hard time deciding what she wanted, though Akira was already set on the strawberry shortcake.

"Man, should I get the chocolate cake, or should I go for some ice cream?" Akemi said, scratching her head as she read the menu.

Rika laughed. "Well, I'm ordering the Special Dessert Platter for all of you, which includes Strawberry Short Cake as well as ice cream and chocolate cake. Oh, and that sundae you have your eyes on, Minoru," she spoke, glancing over to the brown-haired boy who instantly looked away in embarrassment.

"I'm good with that, then," Akemi spoke with a grin.

Daichi looked over to his side, gazing at the purple eyes of Furude Rika. "Miss Rika, what are you going to get? The Dessert Platter has so much stuff on it…"

Rika simply grinned. "Creampuffs."

Akira looked very confused. "Creampuffs?" she repeated.

Rika nodded. "Creampuffs."

"But why _creampuffs_?" Akemi asked.

"It's a very long story, but I will put it like this for now. You see, one of my very close friends loved creampuffs. I never really let her have them, but she really did love them. Eating them… it's a reminder of her, since she passed in 1984," she spoke while all the children listened intently, aside from Minoru, whose attention was divided between Rika and the picture of the sundae on the menu.

"Wow," whispered Daichi. "That's so sad…"

Akemi nodded in agreement. "That is very sad. I hope that your friend is in a better place now, Miss Rika," she said.

Rika smiled. "Thank you, Akemi. I'm sure she'd appreciate it," she whispered, but at the same time knowing that Hanyuu was not in a better place. She was gone. Her spirit had died after she had used up so much power in reviving Mion. There was no way she was watching over them, and there was no way she was happy in some place Rika didn't know. She was gone, and that was the bottom line.

A waitress walked up to them, and Rika ordered the Special Dessert Platter for all of them. The waitress told them it might be a little while, as there was so much on the Dessert Platter, but that she shouldn't worry. When she walked away, Rika stuffed her hand into her bag and pulled out the book, blowing on it to get rid of any dust that may have gotten on it.

She brushed the remaining bits of dust off the cover as the children watched curiously. She smiled as she gazed at the title and at the cover itself. It reminded her of so many times, even if it was so plain. There, right on the cover, were two words.

_Green-Eyed Demon_.

And that was it. There was nothing else on the cover, no decorations, no drawings, no other words, nothing. All of the children wondered why the book had such an ominous name, and why it looked so old. Was this another one of Rika's stories? They had never seen her read one of her stories out of a book before.

"I told you I'd read you a special story, didn't I?" she said, winking at them.

Daichi blinked at her. "Miss Rika, did you write this story?" he asked her.

Rika nodded. "Yup. I wrote it all myself. It takes place all the way back in 1984, and it might be a little scary, but I want to read it to you."

The children looked at each other, wondering what she meant by scary. Hopefully, it wouldn't be too scary, right? They then all looked over at Rika with curious expressions, eager to know what story she had brought for them. She grinned at all of them as she opened the book to the front page, scanning the words she had written so many years ago.

"My name is Furude Rika. Today is June 1984, Showa 59. I am physically the youngest head of the Furude Family ever. However, at the same time, I am the oldest one in Hinamizawa. I have experienced many things that have been seen to the human eye never before. If you don't believe in demons or anything supernatural, turn back now. I will let you know that everything I write here in this book is the complete and utter truth. That I can promise to all of you," she read to all of them.

Akemi looked a little confused. "So… it's a true story?"

Rika grinned. "It's exactly what it says here."

She flipped the page over, looking at the words written on it. This was not the same book she had written in back in 1984. She had bought another journal and added a few things to the beginning, the middle, and the end. The other book was still sitting in that box in the Saiguden for the rest of her ancestors to stumble upon. "I remember it very clearly. It was a night in May. Since the Watanagashi was coming up, I was feeling a little worried. I asked Hanyuu, my close companion, if she felt the same. It turns out that she had some bad news for me. She didn't have enough power to keep herself in physical form due to the belief in Oyashiro-sama dying. In fact, I will tell you right here that Hanyuu is Oyashiro-sama herself. It's hard to believe, I know, but I promised that I would not tell lies."

All four of the children gasped. "Is it really true, Miss Rika?" asked Akira, her eyes wide.

"Just remember what I said in the beginning of the book," she spoke, winking at them.

And so, she continued to tell them the story of 1984. She told them about the day where Hanyuu disappeared and the day they had spent in Angel Mort before that, she told them all about the Camping Trip, she told them all about the Green-Eyed Demon with details she had heard from Mion herself upon asking, she told them about the time where they saw Mion's eyes glow, she told them about Watanagashi along with how Mion had given into the Green-Eyed Demon, she told them about her pressuring Keiichi to confess, she told them about what happened when they found Mion, she told them about her death, and finally, she told them about her revival, and her loss of Hanyuu. Of course, she cut out the graphic descriptions she had written of Etsuko's dead body and skipped the fighting.

"Wait a moment!" cried Akemi. "Mom can't be a demon! That's just too weird!"

"Yeah, aunt isn't a demon! She really isn't! Is she?" Akira spoke.

Minoru sat there with his wide eyes, shocked. Of course, he quickly wiped away the expression from his face. "Mommy is not a demon!" he protested. "Mommy is a good person!"

"You can believe this story, or you can call it a fake," she told them. "But no, Mion is not a demon. As I said in the story, she left the demon behind."

All of them looked at each other, all of them thinking the same exact thing. Rika probably just wanted to excite them by telling them a very suspenseful story, and it really did work. They enjoyed it a lot, but they did not believe it. The idea that Mion was a demon was just a little too unrealistic for them to take in.

"Well, that was a good story, anyways," spoke Akemi, grinning. "It was very different from the usual."

"Yeah," agreed Akira, "it was very good!"

Rika laughed at them. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

And just then, the waitress came, apologizing for the delay. She placed a giant plate down on the table, containing all sorts of cakes and sundaes. Minoru instantly grabbed the largest sundae and began to dig into it with his spoon, not letting anyone else have a taste of it. Rika simply smiled as she took all the creampuffs away from the plate, looking down at them. If Hanyuu was really still there, and if Hanyuu still hand a link with her, could she taste this creampuff? Curiously, Rika bit into it, finding the sweet taste a little sickening. She was never really a fan of sweets, but she always ate creampuffs to honor Hanyuu's spirit.

No, she couldn't think that way. She knew for a fact that Hanyuu was gone. Yet, at the same time, she had to wonder if she had moved on from Hanyuu. Was she still dependant on the idea that Hanyuu was still following her, supporting her? Come to think of it, she always had thoughts that Hanyuu was watching her whenever she was alone at her house, or when she was talking to her friends.

But not when she was telling stories to the children.

When she was with the children, telling them stories, she always felt different. She felt responsible for them, responsible for a part of their happiness. If she had never told them those stories, surely their lives would be a little different. Listening to Rika's stories was a highlight in their life, and something they enjoyed doing quite a bit. And when she was alone with the children, she had full responsibility. She was the one looking after them. And she was succeeding in doing that.

"I wonder if that story is real," wondered Akemi as she swallowed her chocolate cake. "I wonder if Miss Rika was really telling the truth."

"I don't think it was real," Minoru mumbled as he swallowed a spoonful of ice cream. "Mommy isn't a demon..."

Akira nodded in agreement. "It wasn't real, I don't think, but it was an amazing story anyways!"

Daichi smiled. "I love hearing Miss Rika's stories! They're so great!"  
Rika grinned widely as she listened to their comments. They were truly enjoying her stories, even if she knew from the beginning that they would never believe in the tale of the Green-Eyed Demon. That was exactly why she had told it to them, because they wouldn't believe in it. They would enjoy it for sure, however. She felt warm on the inside as they spoke more and more about her stories, and which part of the story she had just told them was their favorite. _Yes, I am responsible for that part in their life. And I'm doing a good job of taking care of them._

That's when she realized it. She truly was independent now. She could take care of these kids all by herself without any trouble, and she could now walk all by herself without talking to Hanyuu. She no longer was asking for other people's help, and she could figure things out by herself. So why did she think otherwise in the first place? Surely Hanyuu would be proud if she saw Rika.

_Yes,_ she thought, watching the children discuss the tale of the Green-Eyed Demon; _I have fulfilled your wish, Hanyuu. I'm really independent now._

Finally, she could move on in life without worrying about that. She knew for a fact now that she was truly an independent person, not relying on someone else all the time like she used to. She had finally fulfilled Hanyuu's last wish. And now, she could become a new Furude Rika, just like Hanyuu wanted.

_August 8__th__, 2001._

_I have fulfilled her last wish. And now, I will move on and become a new Furude Rika._

_That is all I must say._

_~Furude Rika_

~~~~X~~~~

**Crimso's Corner.**

**The end.**

**Yup, guys, it's really the end now. There's no more of **_**Green-Eyed Demon **_**left. It is truly the end. You guys may have noticed that Satoshi was not in the epilogue. No, he wasn't. Why? Because I felt it would be awkward to include him when he never awoke in this fanfiction and was only mentioned like… three times. Listen, I was really planning on adding him in, I thought for hours about how I could add him to the end, but I couldn't come up with a way without ruining the mood. They would be sooo happy about Satoshi returning and stuff, but the point was that they were sad about Mion's disappearance and that nothing could lighten their mood. Satoshi couldn't be added. Sorry! Draw your own conclusions about who Akira's father is. It could be Satoshi… it could be someone else. I'm leaving that up to you guys to decide. So, now, as I promised, I will say my final words here. I'm glad that I could get this up, by the way, and on the Watanagashi Festival, just as I had planed.**

**All right, let's start this off.**

**THANK YOU for reading this, everyone! Thank you if you've followed this story from the beginning to the end, and thank you even if you started reading in the middle or at the end, or even when this fanfiction was already completed! Unfortunately, I cannot thank you properly if you haven't review until now, but I can thank these people…**

_**Thank you to…**_

_**Sergeant Daniel **_**for being a constant reviewer and always sparking my spirit!**

_**xXemmaliesXx **_**for being with this fanfiction since the beginning and reviewing all the way back then, and now! Seriously, I tried to put Satoshi in, but I couldn't in the end. I hope you understand : ).**

_**Sentinel Proxima **_**for reviewing, and for presenting me with helpful criticism that really helped this story. I'm going to go back and fix it like you said! Seriously, thank you for that.**

_**Unknown137 **_**for being so constant with reviewing!**

_**Hikari**_**, who gave me a review towards the end that made me feel all happy on the inside as well as other reviews~.**

_**Uryuu-Nipa/Devi**_** for being such a constant reviewer! Honestly, I cannot thank you enough! I'm glad you made an account, by the way.**

_**Triple Baka**_** for the reviews they have left! They made me very happy, seriously!**

_**The Minister of Silly Walks **_**for leaving me such amazing reviews that were great to read. Seriously, they always cheered me up and made me feel better about my writing. He has also been reviewing since chapter one, which is amazing! He's also an amazing writer, so you should seriously check out **_**The Champion Trilogy **_**and leave him a review, because he deserves more!**

**Phew, I'm forgetting a few, I know, but I don't have much time. I must add that since polls are not working, please add your choice of the next fanfiction in your review. It would be very nice if you told me why, too, though you do not have to. I'm leaning towards #1, because it's the most developed so far though #2 is close. #2 is just an extreme AU and VERY similar to GED in multiple ways. Also, in your review, please tell me what you thought of the epilogue and of the whole story. Also, fill out the form before if you have not already!****My gosh… this is heartbreaking. I cannot believe I'm leaving GED behind. Moving this fic from "in progress" to "complete" will be very tough. Man, I think I'm crying already! *sniff sniff*. Well, anyways, I hope you all enjoyed **_**Green-Eyed Demon, **_**and I hope you're all looking forward to my next work!**

**And finally, happy Watanagashi! I hope you're all celebrating! I know I am.**

**~For the very last time, Crimso.**


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